Women in the Israel Defense Forces

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Police women of the Israel Defense Forces
First female orderly officer of Ethiopian descent

The service of women in the Israeli Defense Forces ( Israel Defense Forces , Ivrit : Zva haHagana leJisra'el) has existed since 1949. Israel is currently one of the four countries, along with Eritrea , Norway and Sweden , that provide conscription for women, while most Western countries have gone over to a professional army. Most countries now also allow women in the military, often on a voluntary or professional basis. More and more often in combat.

In legal terms, there is complete gender equality in the Israel Defense Forces, so that women are fundamentally free to serve in all branches of the armed forces, armed forces and units. De facto, due to structures that have evolved over time as well as different requirement profiles in the individual units, there are still sometimes considerable imbalances in the gender distribution.

history

Women soldiers during combat exercises during the Palestine War, 1948

Before the founding of the state

Even before the state of Israel was founded, women fought in the paramilitary underground organizations HaSchomer and Hagana , from which the Israeli armed forces would later emerge. The service was mostly, but not exclusively, limited to supporting tasks, for example in the medical service or communication. Women also served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women's division of the British Armed Forces. About 4,000 women served in the Hagana or the ATS during World War II . In Tel-Aviv in the late 1940s was a battalion set up, took over in the women's tasks such as security, weapons transportation or as an observation post.

A Hagana officer demonstrates the use of a sten , Palestine War 1948

During the war in Palestine , which broke out in 1947, before the founding of the state of Israel and was waged on the Jewish side by the existing paramilitary organizations and, after the state was founded, the Israeli Defense Forces, the constant shortage of personnel meant that women were not only supportive Performing tasks, but also taking part directly in the armed struggle. Especially in the Palmach , which reached a proportion of women of up to 30%, women also fought on the front lines. However, the number of frontline fighters does not seem to have been very high at any point. Of the total of over 1,000 Palmach fallen in the Palestinian War, only 18 were women.

After the establishment of the State of Israel

Introduction of general conscription for women

Women soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, 1950

On May 26, 1948, the first Prime Minister of the new State of Israel, David Ben Gurion , established the Israel Defense Forces. In September 1949, the Knesset decided to make women compulsory military service - which merely confirmed the status quo.

Exclusion of combat functions

While women soldiers of the newly established Israeli Defense Forces continued to serve in combat functions in the Palestine War due to the continued shortage of personnel, it was later decided not to allow women soldiers to participate in frontline missions. The main reason for this decision was officially the consideration that wounded or fallen women would be detrimental to troop morale and that women in captivity would be exposed to higher risks than their male comrades, namely the risk of being raped. Women soldiers should therefore not fight on the front lines, where the risk of falling into the hands of the enemy is highest.

Ben Gurion said in 1948: “[…] in an army and in war there is a reality of inequality that makes it impossible to send young women into combat units. But an army also needs support units. And women are needed in appropriate functions to strengthen the fighting strength of the nation by releasing men from such supporting functions and thus enabling them to fight with weapons. "

In the years after the founding of the state, some female pilots served in the Israeli air force . The first female pilot was Yael Rom in 1951 . However, in the 1950s, a ban on recruiting was imposed so that women could no longer be trained as pilots.

The author Uta Klein attributes the exclusion of women from combat functions (not only in the Israel Defense Forces) to general values ​​or biological ways of thinking , according to which combat is viewed as a purely male domain. The argument, often put forward in Israel, that women are exposed to considerable risks in Arab captivity, is questioned by the author.

The women's corps

Women served in a special women's corps ( Chen ) and carried out supporting tasks in technical and administrative areas such as in writing rooms, in the medical service, communication, etc. In addition, women soldiers of the women's corps were also used as teachers, especially in underdeveloped regions. The leadership of the women's corps was mostly with former ATS members, while former Palmach fighters generally showed little interest in serving in the women's corps.

In addition, women were and are often used as trainers - also for fighting units. This could lead to the paradoxical situation that women, for example, train tank crews, but were not allowed to belong to such crews themselves. In the Six Day War , a young officer was sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment (of which she only served one week) for deserting to the front.

In 1969 the lawyer Hava Inbar was appointed judge at a military court. She was the world's first female military judge.

During the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and in later years, there were again personnel shortages in the armed forces, but it was only in the late 1970s that areas of responsibility beyond supporting activities were more open to women. In 1986, Amira Dotan , the then commander of the women's corps, became the IDF's first female soldier in the rank of general (Brigadier General - ivrit: Aluf ).

Formal equality between women soldiers

IDF Infantry Instructor Course

In 1994, Alice Miller, an Air Force officer, sued the ban on female pilot training. The lawsuit was upheld in 1995 by the Israeli Supreme Court . The air force was now forced to accept candidates who met the recruitment requirements.

Following the landmark decision by the Supreme Court to admit women to pilot training, a bill was tabled in the Knesset to ensure full equality for women soldiers in all branches of the Israel Defense Forces. In 2000, the following passage was added to military law: "The right of women to serve in any function in the armed forces corresponds to the right of men."

Thus, de jure, complete equality between the sexes was established, and fundamental recruitment bans were no longer permissible. The amendment to the law is subject to the restriction that the personal qualifications of female candidates must be taken into account. Recruitment and successful completion of training therefore still depend on the extent to which the physical and psychological requirements are met. In the course of the amendment to the military legislation, the women's corps was also dissolved in 2000. There are no longer any units that are formed solely on the basis of gender. Since the amendment, more and more women have been serving in armed units such as infantry, artillery or tank troops . In 2000 the Karakal Battalion was formed, an infantry unit in which women (about 70% of the workforce) and men serve together. The soldiers in the unit go through the same training process as any other infantry unit. Women are also employed in the Israeli border police.

The first woman to successfully complete her training as a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force was the F-16 navigator Sari Rahat in 1998 . Roni Zuckerman became the first female fighter pilot in the history of the Israeli Air Force at the age of 23 in 2001. In 2004 she was appointed pilot instructor. This task is entrusted only to the best pilots within the Israeli Air Force.

The Second Lebanon War in 2006 was the first military confrontation since 1948 in which women participated directly in combat alongside men. Helicopter engineer Keren Tendler was the first soldier in the Israel Defense Forces to be killed in combat.

Framework

Compulsory military service

Officer Candidates
Target practice

In Israel, both men and women are compulsory military service, although there are differences in terms of both compulsory military service and compulsory service depending on gender. Only women between the ages of 18 and 19 are subject to general military service. In addition, women as well as men can choose a career as a professional soldier. Women between the ages of 20 and 25 can volunteer for military service, with a minimum of twelve months of service. According to Klein (2001), the proportion of women among professional soldiers at that time was around 10%.

There are some exceptions that allow women to be exempted from military service. This concerns religious reasons, marriage, pregnancy or motherhood. Women, other than those who have served in combat roles, are generally not called up for reserve service if they are married or older than 24. Women who immigrate to Israel at the age of 20 or later are exempt from military service, but they can undertake voluntarily.

Arab Israelis - women and men - are exempt from military service. This does not affect the Bedouins living in Israel , but for cultural reasons, no women from the Bedouin tribes served in the armed forces for a long time. However, a certain cultural change has started here in recent years. Amira al Hayb , born in 1985, was the first Bedouin to serve in a fighting unit.

Military service

Compulsory military service for men normally extends over 36 months, that for women over 24 months. Women who choose to serve in fighting positions must commit themselves for at least 36 months. They can also be drafted into reserve service up to the age of 38, even if they have children. The framework conditions are thus comparable to those for men in fighting positions.

Gender equality efforts within the armed forces

Women's Representative

In the course of the amendment of the military law in 2001 the function of a women 's affairs advisor was created within the Israeli Defense Forces. This function is performed by a woman. The women's representative should ensure in practice that female soldiers receive the (advancement) opportunities to which they are entitled and that appropriate framework conditions are created for female soldiers so that they can develop their skills.

The 2008 Segev Committee report

Reconnaissance unit

In 2008, the so-called Segev Committee, headed by Reserve General Yehuda Segev, presented a 100-page report describing the status quo of military service for women in Israel and strategies for improvement.

Training of the Caracal Battalion

The committee called for the model, which has been practiced for decades, according to which the length of military service and the functions and opportunities for advancement in the armed forces are largely gender-dependent, to be abandoned. It was argued that this model left existing human resources unused and denied opportunities both in the army and later in the course of integration into society - which in Israel still depends to a large extent on military service. The committee stated that despite formal equality in 2007, women were still excluded from 12% of all functions in the armed forces, which was partly due to the shortened military service for women. The committee called for the length of military service to be dependent on the functions sought instead of gender. It should be made more difficult for women to obtain exemption from military service for religious or other reasons. The reasons for an exemption should be independent of gender. Furthermore, with regard to the goal of gender equality, mandatory quotas for women were proposed. Better framework conditions are to be created for women soldiers, including improved rules for interaction between the sexes. With a few exceptions, the committee says women should have all functions in the armed forces. These and other changes should be implemented gradually over the course of a decade, the committee said.

Data

Policewoman on a tram in Jerusalem

According to a 1991 publication, around 65% of Israeli women were serving in the armed forces at the time, 25% opted for exemption from military service for religious reasons, and around 10% were retired. Klein (2001) also gives a share of 25% exemptions for religious reasons.

Currently, just over 40 percent of all IDF soldiers are women. The proportion of women in the ground forces is highest, while relatively few women serve in the Air Force (11%) and the Navy (2%). The proportion of female officers was 57% in 2012, which means that, measured against the proportion of women in the armed forces, women are clearly disproportionately represented in the officer corps. In 2006 the proportion of women officers was 49%. While the proportion of women in combat units was only 0.5% in 2001, the proportion had risen to 3 to 4% by 2013. Despite all efforts to achieve equality, there are still positions that are not open to women; according to the IDF, this currently affects less than 10%.

Klein (2001) puts the proportion of women among professional soldiers at around 10%. According to Klein, the proportion of women in the reserve army, which is the largest component of the Israeli army, is significantly smaller.

Problem areas

Combat exercise in the Negev

Religious Controversies

There was and is controversy among Israeli religious leaders over the question of whether women are allowed to do military service. The front here runs between Orthodox among the rabbis , who generally answer in the negative, and liberal rabbis who hold the military service of women admissible or explicitly advocate. According to the ultra-Orthodox chief rabbis David Lau and Jitzchak Josef , at least religious women should not serve in the armed forces or should not be forced to do military service. This position corresponds to the current status quo. The debate on this question is also being held in politics and society. In addition to religious aspects, pragmatic considerations and the aspect of justice also play a role. The possibility of evading military service for religious reasons alone (also with regard to ultra-Orthodox men) is felt by many Israelis to be unjust. In addition, the minimum military service period for male soldiers, which is currently 36 months, would have to be significantly extended if women were generally excluded from military service.

Another complex of problems concerns certain attitudes of Orthodox male soldiers towards female comrades. A particularly high-profile case in 2011 involved nine officer cadets who, for religious reasons, left a memorial service on the occasion of Operation Cast Lead in 2008 when a mixed-sex choir sang a song. Disciplinary measures were then imposed on the officer candidates. In October 2011, female soldiers were asked by military chaplains to leave a Simchat Torah celebration and dance in a separate area. In late 2011, 19 reserve generals drafted a letter of protest to Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warning that such incidents would undermine troop morale and the fundamental values ​​of Israeli society.

Sexual harassment

According to Stuart A. Cohen, there was a general consensus in the Israeli armed forces until the 1990s that sexual performance in soldiers went hand in hand with military ability. The American author Laura Sjoberg described in 2010, the Israel Defense Forces as a "greenhouse for exploitative sexual relations" ( hothouse for exploitive sexual relationships ), the IDF military culture was based on "rampant lawlessness" ( rampant licentiousness ).

In 1993, the Israeli newspaper Maariw reported that only 10% of the approximately 1,000 documented sexual harassment cases annually were investigated. In 1997 there were 280 documented cases of sexual harassment, and two years later there was an average of about one case per day. In 1998 and 99, 54 officers were dishonorably dismissed, demoted or sentenced to prison on charges of sexual harassment. Stuart Cohen suspects a high number of undocumented cases. According to the author, 20% of women soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces have been sexually assaulted.

According to Klein, it was not uncommon in the Israel Defense Forces to use police officers as hostesses or even animators . However, this practice is now prohibited by a service instruction.

literature

  • Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3-593-36724-6 .
  • Uta Klein: Conscription of Women: Experiences with the Military and Gender in Israel. In: Jens-Rainer Ahrens, Maja Apelt, Christiane Bender (eds.): Women in the military: Empirical findings and perspectives on the integration of women in the armed forces, Springer-Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-8100-4136-X , p. 194-212.
  • Louis Williams: The Israel Defense Forces: A People's Army. iUniverse, 2000, ISBN 0-595-14353-9 .
  • Simon Akstinat : Jewish Girls in Uniform: The only female conscripts in the world , Berlin 2014

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Sheila B. Keetharuth, after her visit to Tunisia and Malta (11-20 November 2013). United Nations , November 25, 2013, accessed September 20, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Bar Ben-Ari: A Woman of Valor. (No longer available online.) Israel Defense Forces, Aug 1, 2007, archived from the original on May 15, 2011 ; Retrieved March 23, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / dover.idf.il
  3. ↑ Uta Klein: Conscription of Women: Experiences with the Military and Gender in Israel. In: Jens-Rainer Ahrens, Maja Apelt, Christiane Bender (eds.): Women in the military: Empirical findings and perspectives on the integration of women in the armed forces. Springer-Verlag, 2005, p. 197.
  4. ↑ Louis Williams: The Israel Defense Forces: A People's Army. iUniverse, 2000, ISBN 0-595-14353-9 , p. 321.
  5. ↑ Netanel Lorch: SPOTLIGHT ON ISRAEL: The Israel Defense Forces. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs , May 31, 1997, accessed June 10, 2010 .
  6. ↑ Quoted from Louis Williams: The Israel Defense Forces: A People's Army. iUniverse, 2000, ISBN 0-595-14353-9 , p. 321.
  7. ^ First woman pilot in Israeli Air Force dies. In: The Jewish news weekly of Northern California. June 2, 2006, accessed June 10, 2010 .
  8. ↑ timesofisrael.com
  9. ↑ Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, p. 171 ff.
  10. ↑ a b c d e Lauren Gelfond Feldinger: Skirting history. In: The Jerusalem Post. September 21, 2008, accessed June 10, 2010 .
  11. ↑ Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, p. 127.
  12. ↑ Louis Williams: The Israel Defense Forces: A People's Army. iUniverse, 2000, ISBN 0-595-14353-9 , pp. 324, 335.
  13. ↑ timesofisrael.com
  14. ^ Yossi Katz: A Voice Called: Stories of Jewish Heroism. Gefen Publishing House, 2010, ISBN 978-965-229-480-7 .
  15. ↑ timesofisrael.com
  16. ↑ idfinfo.co.il ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.idfinfo.co.il
  17. ↑ Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, p. 151.
  18. ↑ Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, p. 150.
  19. ↑ idfinfo.co.il ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.idfinfo.co.il
  20. ↑ idfinfo.co.il ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.idfinfo.co.il
  21. ^ Anne R. Bloom: Women in the Defense Forces. In: Barbara Swirski, Marylin P. Safir: Calling the equality bluff - Women in Israel. New York 1991, p. 141.
  22. ↑ Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, p. 150.
  23. ↑ Keren Greenblatt: Militarization, Religion and the "Demographic Threat". In: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Israel Office. March 8, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017 .
  24. ↑ International Women's Day: Facts You Need to Know About Women in the IDF. In: IDF . March 7, 2014, accessed June 20, 2017 .
  25. ^ Women in the IDF. In: www.idfinfo.co.il. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015 ; accessed on June 20, 2017 (English).
  26. ↑ Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, p. 151.
  27. ↑ Lapid: Fire Chief Rabbis over objection to religious women's service in the army | JPost | Israel News. JPost, February 5, 2013, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  28. ^ The Yeshiva World Stern Joins Lapid in Condemning the Chief Rabbis "" Frum Jewish News. Theyeshivaworld.com, January 16, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  29. ^ Rabbi Riskin on Women's Enlistment: It's a Mitzvah - Jewish World - News. Israel National News, January 21, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  30. ↑ jpost.com
  31. ↑ Amos Harel: IDF: Soldiers cannot skip ceremonies with women singing. In: Haaretz. September 14, 2011, accessed December 31, 2011 .
  32. ↑ a b Yair Ettinger: Top settler rabbi: Soldiers will sooner choose death than suffer women's singing. In: Haaretz. November 17, 2011, accessed December 31, 2011 .
  33. ^ Stuart A. Cohen: Israel and Its Army: From Cohesion to Confusion. Pp. 66-67.
  34. ^ Laura Sjoberg, Sandra Via: Gender, War, and Militarism: Feminist Perspectives. 2010, p. 87.
  35. ^ Susan Starr Sered : A Cultural Climate in the IDF That Legitimises Sexual Harassment of Women Soldiers. In: What Makes Women Sick ?: Maternity, Modesty, and Militarism in Israeli Society. UPNE, 2000, p. 92.
  36. ^ Stuart A. Cohen: Israel and Its Army: From Cohesion to Confusion. P. 68.
  37. ↑ Uta Klein: Military and Gender in Israel. Campus Verlag, 2001, p. 181.