Naamat chair Hagit Pe'er responded sharply to 13 more hesder yeshiva heads announcing a halt to Armored Corps enlistment over the integration of female combat soldiers, saying the rabbis are 'destroying the IDF and burying the model of a people's army.' Pe'er argued that while entire populations exempt themselves from service, the IDF cannot afford to turn away women who want to serve.
Naamat chair Hagit Pe'er on Monday sharply condemned a new wave of hesder yeshiva heads announcing a boycott of Armored Corps enlistment, calling the move a direct blow to the IDF's model as a people's army. The statement follows an announcement by 13 more hesder yeshiva leaders that they would block their students from serving in the Armored Corps because of the integration of female combat soldiers — expanding a boycott that first emerged last week.
As The Zioneer has reported, a forum of liberal local authorities denounced the original boycott as "a severe act of exclusion" and a threat to national security. The dispute centers on the IDF's ongoing policy of placing female combat troops in the Armored Corps, a change that some religious leaders say violates the principle of modesty in mixed-gender units. Pe'er's criticism frames the boycott as part of a broader trend of sectoral exemption from military service, arguing that the IDF cannot reject volunteers at a time when large groups are not enlisting.
The question of how the IDF will maintain its manpower and unit cohesion amid these competing pressures remains open. Neither the Defense Ministry nor IDF Personnel Directorate has issued formal comment on the expanded boycott.
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