Not an army of baboons

Israel’s radical feminists see the IDF as a masculine institution in the worst sense of the word: an oppressive, vengeful organization made up of violent, chauvinistic men, in whose eyes women are good for little more than serving tea and facilitating their sexual gratification.

The military, feminists claim, is the launching pad from which the Israeli male enters society’s power centers. The reserve officers turn into corporate directors and CEO's, Knesset members and ministers. Anyone who was part of the combat corps enjoys a lifelong aura and a network of connections that afford easy access to money, power and status.

The feminists resent this male power dynamic. They see the military “patriarchy” as their enemy and seek to topple it. To a large extent, it is they who have led the profound change that has taken place over the last 25 years in the way our popular culture regards the Israeli male and the Israeli soldier.

Israel’s media used to be filled with adoring writeups about our combat soldiers - tales of covert operations behind enemy lines and portraits of legendary, anonymous commanders. Our society’s attitude towards the IDF was a fond and loving one. Towns and villages were named after the fallen soldiers; songs and books were written about them. The nation’s youth were brought up on stories of their exploits.

Officers gone bad

Today, the tone tends to be much more mocking and critical, and the headline stories are about officers gone bad - especially with regard to sexual misconduct. A central reason for this cultural reversal - though not the only one - is the strengthening of the radical feminist movement and the influence it wields on the political and judicial systems, as well as on the media.

One can sympathize with the feminists’ frustration and sense of affront, faced with the fact that Israeli militarism has created a macho society that revolves around men and masculinity.

But there is no use fighting certain facts, and ignoring them is downright dangerous.

It is a fact that the state of Israel was created in the midst of a large sea of aggressive and hostile nations. It is a fact that these nations declared war on Israel some 60 years ago, and that this war is still being fought.

Mocking 'Follow me!'

The Jewish state’s answer to this existential threat was the IDF. This large, multigenerational group of men, with the silver wings and swords and bat wings on their chests and the metal officers’ ranks on their shoulders; with their pride, their secrets, their legendary camaraderie and the slogans that are so easy to mock today - “Follow me!,” “the best – to the Pilots’ Course,” “never leave a wounded man behind” - when all is said and done, it is they who defeated the enemy armies in war after war, few against many.

To take all this - the combat pilots, tank crews and sailors, our heroes - the legendary Dudu of the Palmakh; Uri Ilan, who died under enemy torture yet would not divulge military secrets; Yoni Netanyahu; the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have risked their lives in order to defend their country and their friends - to put all this inside a cardboard box and label it “chauvinist machoism” - this is oversimplification.

It is unfair, it is not right, and it is not very smart either.

Yes - the military’s spirit is a masculine and aggressive one. But the reality is that we need our army, and that it is precisely this male fighting spirit which has enabled us to live in relative freedom and safety in our country for the past 58 years.

Officers who force themselves upon female soldiers under their command should be punished severely. But let’s not lose our sense of proportion: throughout the years, the women of the IDF have been serving in important and exceedingly meaningful roles that do not necessarily entail making coffee and smiling while being pinched.

Female intelligence

And no - I’m not talking about the combat female soldiers in the Karakal infantry and Sakhlav military police units. Despite all of the feminist hype surrounding these units, their actual contribution to the security effort is marginal.

I’m talking about the talented female intelligence officers: the women who serve as lookouts and radar operators, aiding the soldiers on the ground; the female instructors and the casualty officers and the ‘Tash’ NCO's who aid soldiers with financial and family problems; the adjutants and the aides without whom most of the commanders would be lost; and the thousands of secretaries - yes, the secretaries too! - without whose contributions behind the scenes, all of the army’s great exercises and operations would not have been possible.

The dignity and rights of the IDF’s female soldiers must be upheld; this goes without saying. Obviously, just because somebody has ‘falafels’ (the popular name for the fig leaves that denote high rank) on his shoulders doesn’t give him the right to touch his secretary against her wishes.

But the exaggerated cultural focus on the subject of sexual harassment in the IDF, and the tendency to depict all of the IDF’s men as oversexed baboons and all of its women as their sex toys, does a disservice to both male and female soldiers.

Where are the women who love the IDF, its soldiers and commanders? Why is their voice not heard?