Religious soldiers in the IDF's Givati Brigade's Rotem Battalion refused to take part in an operational mission in the Gaza Strip after being ordered to board a Namer armored personnel carrier with a female paramedic, according to sources familiar with the incident, who warned on Thursday that the dispute could spark wider tensions with yeshiva student units.
About a week and a half earlier, another disagreement erupted after the company commander decided to hold a Saturday drill involving the evacuation of wounded soldiers, including the insertion of an IV, despite soldiers’ claims that there was no operational need for the exercise.
'We are on a collision course and heading toward an explosion'
Sources familiar with the details warned that the way the incidents are handled could lead to a broader crisis involving yeshiva student units in the IDF. “We are on a collision course and heading toward an explosion,” one source said.
The company is operating from the forward outpost “Meteor 5” in the Gaza Strip. The outpost includes, among other things, a tank and a forward medical team that includes a female paramedic, the only female soldier stationed there.
According to the soldiers, the first incident occurred about a week and a half ago, when the company commander decided to conduct a Saturday drill involving the evacuation of wounded soldiers, including opening an IV. Soldiers from the yeshiva student unit approached him and argued that the drill was not operationally necessary and that carrying it out on Saturday would involve desecrating the Sabbath.
Military rabbi rules drill should not take place on Shabbat
On Saturday night, the soldiers contacted a military rabbi who, according to them, ruled that the drill should not have taken place on Saturday.
The tensions resurfaced this week. As Walla reported on Wednesday night, the company planned to carry out an operational activity that included a patrol using a Merkava tank and a Namer armored personnel carrier.
The medical team, including the female paramedic, was required to join the Namer along with the company commander’s command post and three additional soldiers.
According to the soldiers, this was not an emergency event or a life-saving operation. A source familiar with the incident claimed that because of the cramped conditions inside the Namer, a religious soldier would have difficulty avoiding physical contact with a female soldier during the ride.
Before refusing to carry out the mission, the soldiers attempted to contact the Givati Brigade rabbi. After receiving no response, they contacted their yeshiva rabbi and two additional yeshiva heads.
According to the soldiers, the rabbis told them they were prohibited from carrying out the mission in the planned format and that agreements existed on the matter with the Military Rabbinate and the head of the Personnel Directorate, Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, regarding mixed-gender service in tanks or armored personnel carriers.
A discussion was later held involving the battalion commander, company commander, and Givati Brigade rabbi. During the discussion, the soldiers were told that the activity was important.
The three soldiers who were required to join the mission refused to board the Namer.
According to sources familiar with the details, the company commander then woke the entire unit and asked other soldiers to carry out the mission. However, the remaining soldiers also refused to do so in the required format.
They claimed the demand contradicted IDF orders, Jewish law, and agreements with the Personnel Directorate and the Military Rabbinate.
The soldiers continued to argue that this was not an urgent incident or a life-saving situation, but rather a routine activity. Following the refusal, they said they were sent to the kitchen. The operational activity was canceled.
“There are things that cannot be played with”
Sources familiar with the details warned that the way the IDF chooses to handle the incident could have consequences beyond the specific case in the Rotem Battalion.
“Religious Zionism has red lines. We can go down a path of confrontation. What happened in other units can spread. There are things that cannot be played with,” one source familiar with the details said.
The source also linked the incidents to the broader dispute surrounding the pilot program to integrate female soldiers into armored units.
“In my opinion, within a year and a half, one of two things will happen: either the pilot program fails, and there are no women, or there are women, and there are no religious soldiers. There cannot be both,” the source claimed.
Two-thirds of Armored Corps reserve battalion commanders are religious
The source said the composition of the Armored Corps also has significance in this context.
“There are 21 reserve battalion commanders in the Armored Corps, 14 of whom are religious and four of whom are former religious. The future of the Armored Corps also needs to be built on this community. If they fail to respect their needs according to what was agreed upon in IDF orders, we are on a collision course and heading toward an explosion.”
“A force from the Rotem Battalion operating in the Gaza Strip was required last night (Wednesday) to carry out an operational activity that included an operational patrol during which the force was required to use a Namer,” the IDF said in response.
“According to the joint service order, soldiers with a religious lifestyle are entitled to carry out operational activity within a gender segregated framework, except in exceptional cases. In the case described, the force refused to carry out the operational activity, and as a result, the activity was canceled. The incident is being investigated, and based on the findings, command measures will be taken," the IDF added.