IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met Tuesday with religious-Zionist yeshiva and pre-military academy heads, stressing the military still lacks thousands of combat soldiers amid unprecedented operational challenges, according to the IDF spokesperson.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met Tuesday with rabbis from the religious-Zionist yeshiva world, joined by the deputy chief of staff, the ground forces commander, the military advocate general, the chief military rabbi, and the manpower directorate chief, the IDF said. Zamir expressed deep appreciation for the yeshivas' role in encouraging meaningful and combat service, noting that the army still lacks thousands of soldiers and needs every male and female fighter for its missions. He reaffirmed the 'joint service order' allowing diverse populations to serve side by side without compromise, and stated that expanding women's integration into key and combat roles — an operational necessity — will proceed in full alignment with that order, maintaining professional standards without concessions. The rabbis praised Zamir's leadership in complex times and committed to continuing to educate their students toward military service, while raising challenges faced by observant soldiers regarding religious observance in service, the military said.
As The Zioneer reported, Zamir earlier this month detailed criteria for a pilot integrating women into the Armored Corps, ruling out mixed-gender tank crews. The meeting comes amid a wider IDF push to broaden the conscription base, a sensitive political issue between the military and some religious communities. The rabbis' positions on women in combat roles were not detailed in the official readout.
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