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Photo: Shaul Golan
Soldiers starting basic training (archives)
Photo: Shaul Golan

Caucasus, Bukharan soldiers exempt from kitchen duty

Common practice in IDF basic training: Male troops of central Asian origin granted informal exemptions from cleaning duties traditionally deemed 'women's work' that is 'beneath their honor'. Army says commanders instructed to take different sects into consideration so as 'not to offend individuals'

Male soldiers in basic training that want to avoid dishwashing, kitchen duty and cleaning the floors are in luck if they come from the Caucasus and Bukharan communities, as Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that the Israel Defense Forces unofficially grants such troops an exemption from these "household" duties.

 

These two communities that originate from central Asia are known to be very conservative, and many Caucasus and Bukharan families take maintaining the "man's honor in the family" very seriously.

 

Many IDF commanders have decided to take this into consideration when dealing with soldiers from these communities, and grant them informal exemptions from cleaning duties, that according to their traditions, are carried out by women.

 

Yedioth Ahronoth has received quite a few accounts from IDF soldiers indicating that this is a widespread practice that occurs in almost all military units, except for a few in which the exemption is offered but rejected by the Bukharan and Caucasus soldiers so as to maintain equality with their comrades.

 

The commanders that grant the exemptions say they are not acting according to a written order but an informal one that passes down from commanders to their subordinates.

 

An officer from the manpower branch said that in recent years there has been a significant drop in the number of soldiers from the central Asian communities that ask for such exemptions, and that the number was much higher a decade ago.

 

Exemption doesn't always come easy

But the coveted exemption doesn't always come easy to the soldiers. For example, one officer from the Northern Command described an incident that occurred during preparations for Passover, during which a soldier from the Caucasus community was sent to kitchen duty and refused to go.

 

Following his refusal, one of his officer's wished to have the soldier tried for refusing an order, but with the intervention of a more senior commander, it was decided to have the trial called off, since the soldier's origin made him eligible for an exemption.

 

In another incident, this practice led to a confrontation between soldiers. Soldiers from the antiaircraft lineup complained that one of their comrades was not pulling his weight in cleaning duties, leading to an unfair division of work.

 

"When we started our basic training we didn't have a Caucasus soldier," said one of the soldiers, "In one of the courses, a soldier from another course joined us, and he happened to be Caucasus. The commander gave out the assignments, and his turn came to go to the kitchen.

 

"Suddenly we learned, to our surprise, that he was exempt from the kitchens. We were shocked. We asked our commander, and he said this was true. It seemed insane to us that there are things like this in today's IDF."

 

Being considerate of different sects' customs

Another soldier that served in the Shimshon Battalion said he and his comrades were more understanding of the practice: "In basic training we were ordered to clean the toilets, and the commander gave a Caucasus soldier an exemption.

 

"He told us that the IDF respects the Caucasus belief that only women do these jobs and that for them it is beneath the men's honor, so he would sit it out. It was presented to us in a natural way, so it worked."

 

IDF sources stressed that in most cases, especially in the combat units, Caucasus and Bukharan soldiers do not try to avoid their duties, and that they even take on other assignments such as standing guard for long hours instead of the cleaning duties.

 

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in response to the report: "Soldiers from the Caucasus community are not, according to any orders, eligible for special rights due to their origin.

 

"The recommendation given to the units' commanders is to be as considerate of the different sects and their customs as possible in order to avoid offending the individual."

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.08.09, 10:28
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