Over 700 religious high-school and yeshiva students have signed a petition asking IDF Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi not to "destroy" the Israel Defense Forces by opening more combat roles to female fighters. The students also insisted they would refuse to serve in mixed-gender units.
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The IDF on Tuesday announced that it would open more combat positions to women, beyond the mixed-gender light infantry units where some already serve.
The decision means women joining the IDF will be able to serve in elite search and rescue and combat engineering units, and will likely serve as a litmus test for military planners who say more roles may be opened in the future depending on the success of integration in these units.
"We were sorry to hear your decision to open light infantry units to mixed service as part of a trend to mix women and men in more IDF combat units. It is important to us that we make clear that according to our way of life and the Halacha we believe in, we cannot serve in mixed combat units and we will not serve in a mixed brigade because combat service as such invites situations of proximity between men and women forbidden by Jewish law, just like the desecration of Shabbat and chametz [unleavened bread] on Passover," the students wrote.
"There are already many roles in the IDF in which we cannot serve due to the increasing mixing [of genders] happening on your shift. That places us in a dilemma as to whether to give up the important [military] position or our values. This excludes us from contributing to the security of the state simply because we observe Halacha. Is it appropriate for this to happen in the Jewish state? Is this appropriate in the Jewish people's army - for Jews to be excluded for their beliefs and their adherence to the Halacha …?"
The students note that the military has responded to their concerns by saying they would ensure they were drafted into separate units, something the students said was unacceptable.
"We will not return to the days of the religious battalions …. We want to serve with all the Jewish people, to be one united society, one military for one people. Don't separate us into an army of the religious and an army of the secular," they wrote.
"We implore you not to divide the IDF and Israeli society. There have been enough Jewish wars in the history of the kingdoms of Israel for us to know how important mutual responsibility and concern is for every person in Israel."
In closing, the students asked Kochavi to allow them to continue to contribute to the country and the IDF and to "respect our way of life, and maintain the IDF's identity as the army of the Jewish people.
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