Some 30 IDF paratroopers from a religious unit turned their backs on a female instructor on Tuesday in an incident that sparked two investigations by the army and an admission that an error in judgment by another instructor allowed the soldiers to behave in such a manner.
The paratrooper platoon comprises soldiers from the "hesder yeshiva" religious Zionist track, which combines religious studies with shortened military service over five years.
The incident came to light after the female instructor's mother tweeted on Wednesday: "Yesterday [Tuesday] I was barely able to fall asleep after a trying day in which my daughter, Noa, a parachuting instructor in the army, told me that while demonstrating a drill to 70 soldiers, 50 of them turned their backs to her and stood in threes because she is a woman! And this wasn't a group of haredim [ultra-Orthodox] either. The reality is dismal."
In response, the IDF issued a statement saying: "During a parachuting training exercise, a female instructor demonstrated a drill to a platoon of yeshiva military academy cadets. Some 30 cadets, who did not want to look at the demonstration performed by the female soldier, turned their heads. Following the incident, a discussion was held with the cadets, in which their commander made clear to them that military bylaws prohibit segregation among male and female instructors at any point in the paratrooper certification and a cadet who acts disrespectfully toward a female instructor will not continue with the course. The IDF is the national army of the people and unity within its ranks is emphasized throughout any activity, regardless of religion, race or gender."
However, the Association of Hesder Yeshivas dismissed the report as "fake news."
"To our regret, the association found that, contrary to the reports, the commanders of the soldiers in the field were the ones who put the soldiers in threes with their back to the instructor, and that was the way the yeshiva students acted in accordance with the explicit instructions of the commanders. We view with utmost severity the contemptible use of defaming observant IDF soldiers in general and against the hesder yeshiva students in particular," the association said.
Following the association's claims, the IDF conducted a second inquiry of the incident.
The IDF said it found that one of the soldiers had asked his commander in advance of the drill for permission to lower his head during the instructor's demonstration. An instructor in the reserves approved the request and extended the approval to other soldiers who felt a need to act this way. Ultimately, some 30 soldiers turned their backs to the female instructor.
The IDF said it had made it clear to all involved that this was an error in judgement on the part of the reserves instructor and was not in line with protocols and procedures.
