Against the background of the major damage being caused to the motivation to serve in the IDF over the country’s judicial overhaul conflict, some young women remain full of motivation to serve in elite combat units.In interviews on Wednesday, minutes after they finished a simulation for elite unit tryouts and were still full of sand, mud, and sweat, Topaz Dayagi, 19, and Li Hochman, 18, both from Even Yehuda, described their exhilaration at competing with men at high levels, as well as how they are coping with the current debate about IDF service.Dayagi said that “before this [simulation], I always worried about the physical and mental difficulties [of elite unit tryouts]. The ‘five fingers’ preparatory organization’s training helped. They worked us hard on simulations so we would finish on a high.“I have a high level of satisfaction after doing this. I had to wake up at 5 a.m. to get here on time. There is no other fulfillment like this. To focus on the goal and make sacrifices for it with a lot of our free time feels great and builds character,” she said.Dayagi added she felt fulfilled, and finished the multi-hour simulation “with a smile.”
Early preparations
The two explained that some of them already started preparatory activities as early as seventh to ninth grade. Others spent time in their later high school years, once or twice a week, working on different kinds of physical conditioning projects to be able to meet the IDF’s standards, while some spent a full year after 12th grade preparing.
Hochman responded, “I also plan to do Oketz, but in a year, after doing the IDF preparatory-year program. My coach from Five Fingers was a company commander in Oketz. The sky’s the limit. Everything new is challenging. But this is a chance to be a positive influence and example.”
“Being a female combat soldier is an honorable form of service, and did not always exist as an option. It doesn’t matter what your political views are – everyone believes in keeping the country safe from its enemies. We all love the country and we need to protect it,”
Topaz Dayagi, 19
The defense echelon has been unstable and divided of late thanks to the coalition’s passing of the first law in its judicial overhaul campaign. Many pilots and intelligence officers in the reserves have threatened they would not volunteer for service, bringing the precariousness of the nation’s security to a new level.“We are citizens,” Dayagi said. “I already voted in an election. It is inseparable from life, so we are a part of it. The IDF is also an inseparable part of our lives. Our grandfathers served and now it is our turn.“Being a female combat soldier is an honorable form of service, and did not always exist as an option. It doesn’t matter what your political views are – everyone believes in keeping the country safe from its enemies. We all love the country and we need to protect it,” she said.With an eye to the future, Dayagi said, “This is not something we can take for granted. This is a big deal for me, to be taking action and not just looking on from the side. We give up some things for the cause of women becoming combat soldiers.”Five Fingers founder Amir Menachem said that the “integration of young women into the simulation days for elite units is a necessary goal. We cannot ignore what is happening within Israeli society,” but both sides must remain respectful. So far, he has not seen “a drop in the motivation of men or women to be drafted.”Asked if they thought women would eventually break into the most elite units, like the Navy’s Shayetet 13 (SEALs), Hochman said that Israel is still young. “Anything is possible. Women have joined the US Marines. There are things where men are better and there are things where women contribute more. I hope that whoever is in charge keeps an open mind” for what is possible for women in the IDF.Dayagi added that “the IDF is always learning. The elite Combat Search and Rescue Unit 669 opened up to women two years ago. It is a work in progress.”