In Israel, the army has just set up a fighting unit for religious women. Some indeed refuse military service because of the presence of men by their side.
From our correspondent in Jerusalem,
The military officials, the commanders of the Israeli army are trying to kill two stones at once with this decision to create a female unit. We must remember several elements. First of all, there is no separation between religion and state in Israel. On the contrary even. Young practicing women can be exempted from military service, which is in principle compulsory for everyone: three years for men and around two for women. A civil service replaces the passage under the flags for young women who benefit from the exemption. Military service, in many cases, serves as a springboard for access to working life for young Israelis. In the majority of units, men and women serve together in the same battalions.
A 100% female combat unit
It should see the light of day next March and will therefore be reserved exclusively for women religious. It will be a fighting unit, it is still indicated. It was created at the request of directors of religious schools. The latter affirm that some of their students wish to carry out military service in a combat unit, but encounter difficulties with their families because of the mixed nature of this type of unit. This new battalion, the name of which has not been revealed, will be exclusively female.
There are many mixed units. The best known is the Karakal infantry battalion long deployed along the border between Israel and Egypt and which is now in the West Bank. But there are mostly armored and artillery regiments where men and women are side by side in armored vehicles. It is precisely this promiscuity that raises problems, especially on the part of religious men. Several rabbis have repeatedly protested against this diversity in conditions of combat. And this issue is also debated in border police units, the Green Berets, where men and women patrol together and are often called upon to disperse Palestinian protests in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Military service for all?
A law dated 2014 had provided for lifting the exemption from military service for ultra-Orthodox youth. It was overturned by the Supreme Court.
Mass protests are held regularly in the country. This subject weighs as a constant threat to the survival of the various government coalitions. Ultra-Orthodox youth must be identified by the military authorities even if they are de facto exempt from service. The law on this subject is the subject of constant debate. Except curiously during this period for the good reason that no Orthodox party is a member of the coalition.
From a demographic point of view the problem can only get worse. The share of the religious population in Israel is steadily increasing. But the solution could be the abolition of military service as it exists today and the establishment of a professional army. And it could happen faster than it seems.
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