Abstract
Women serve in diverse roles in the 21st century militaries of the world. They are no longer banned from combat. The presence of women on the battlefield has raised religious arguments and considerations. What role do religious arguments play in the discussion regarding women’s military service? Using media, internal publications, as well as academic articles, the current paper examined this question in the context of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF): a conscription-based military that conscripts both men and women, religious and secular, for both combat and noncombat postings. Using the case of the pilot program in the IDF attempting to integrate women in the Israeli tank corps, as well as gauging the way religious men view this change, the paper argues that religious considerations serve the same purpose as functional considerations and can be amplified or lessened, as needed.
Highlights
Women serve in diverse roles in the 21st century militaries of the world
Using the case of the pilot program in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attempting to integrate women in the Israeli tank corps, as well as gauging the way religious men view this change, the paper argues that religious considerations serve the same purpose as functional considerations and can be amplified or lessened, as needed
While the articles focus on religious arguments, they employ functional arguments (LIBA n.d.)
Summary
As noted , when discussing women’s presence on the battlefield, two main categories of arguments usually surface (See Figure 1). Eliezer Melamed, an influential halakhic authority, serving together in mixed-gender units in the military places one in potential problematic situations and is very different from “working together in a store or a bank, or anywhere where men and women enter together” These arguments are voiced by various rabbis. Are considered a monolithic category: the rabbis quoted here do not speak to the women who enlist but rather dismiss what they think are the women’s thoughts on the matter (for such an imagined conversation, see Aviner 2015) With these points in mind, we can turn to the way these dilemmas are utilized in the discussion concerning women’s military service in the IDF
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