Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, head of the Eli pre-military academy, issued an urgent call to students late Monday urging them not to try out for Sayeret Matkal, claiming the unit has become mixed-gender without halachic sanction. He warned that even separate training tracks end with mixed operational teams, and dismissed the operational-need justification. Levinstein called on recruits to choose only units that preserve their religious worldview.
Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, head of the pre-military preparatory academy in Eli, released a sharp public appeal Monday evening calling on prospective recruits to avoid trying out for Sayeret Matkal, the IDF's premier special forces unit. Levinstein stated that the unit has become 'mixed' (integrating women) and that this has no halachic sanction. He warned that even if candidates are promised separate teams during training, at the end of the track they will be assigned to mixed platoons and operate shoulder-to-shoulder with female soldiers. He completely rejected the 'operational necessity' argument as a halachic justification, urging young men to enlist only in units that preserve their religious worldview.
The statement deepens an ongoing rift between religious-Zionist educators and the IDF over gender integration in combat roles. As The Zioneer has reported, pre-military academy and hesder yeshiva heads have in recent weeks urged students to avoid mixed-gender units, including the Armored Corps. Levinstein's direct targeting of Sayeret Matkal — the most prestigious unit in the IDF — marks a significant escalation. The call is likely to sharpen the public debate over the limits of religious accommodation within the military's operational frameworks.
3 developments
- StrongRabbi Yigal Levinstein Urges Candidates to Avoid Sayeret Matkal Over Gender Integration
- StrongPre-army seminary rabbis join hesder yeshiva heads in urging students to avoid mixed-gender units
- DevelopingPre-army academy head says Armored Corps mixed pilot threatens religious soldiers
- DevelopingAnalyst argues gender integration in elite units is no barrier to Mossad, Shin Bet enlistment
Source and signal
- Internal intake