Despite ongoing efforts by the IDF to open more combat roles to women, some people still think that women have no place in combat.
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A recent online kerfluffle highlighted the sensitivity of the issue.
Recently, a poster claiming to be a former member of a mixed-gender infantry battalion posted a message on the Facebook page IDF Confessions, saying, "It's time someone says it. A lot of people won't like hearing this, but there's no such thing as women in combat."
According to the poster, "Anyone who served in a mixed [gender] battalion knows that the men do everything considered difficult and are more trusted. The women will mostly be angry about posts like this and then say among themselves that women in combat is nonsense.
"Not to mention that the requirement to be a [female] combat soldier is so low and maybe because of that [the initiative] failed," the poster said.
Other users were quick to respond, and not only women.
"As a woman who served in the Border Police, I saw amazing women fighters who do the exact same work the men do, and a lot of times were even more badass, (and by the way – it wouldn't hurt you to listen to the news sometimes," one woman wrote.
"Are you so out of touch? In the mixed battalions they [women] undergo the exact same training the men do, and let me tell you something – they work a lot harder because they need to prove themselves. There are girls who beat most of the guys on the physical tests, and lots of other things. You can be sure that the girls' motivated is much higher than that of the guys and you should feel privileged to even serve with women who decided to give more," another woman wrote.
A man added, "What happened? Are you upset because all the girls beat you on the tests? Personally, I've seen Caracal platoons where a girl, not a guy, carried the MAG, and from the little contact I had with that battalion, the girls were motivated than the guys there."
Another male user mocked the original poster: "And you must be the John Wick of the elites."
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