A group of religious soldiers from the Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade refused an operational order in Gaza overnight after learning that a female paramedic would join their force, leading to the cancellation of the mission.
The soldiers serve in the battalion’s reconnaissance company, which includes troops from hesder yeshivas, religious seminaries whose students combine military service with Torah study. The force was scheduled to conduct an operational patrol using a Namer armored personnel carrier.
(Photo: IDF)
According to the IDF, the commanders agreed to carry out the mission, but the soldiers themselves refused because of the paramedic’s presence.
The company commander tried to persuade them to reconsider, explaining the importance and urgency of the mission. The brigade rabbi also ruled that they were permitted to participate. The soldiers nevertheless maintained their refusal, and the operation was canceled.
The IDF said the incident would be investigated and that disciplinary measures would be taken in accordance with the commanders’ findings.
“These are young soldiers, new to the battalion, and they still don’t know how things work,” a soldier from the parallel Tomer company, which is made up of Haredi troops, told ynet. “During training everything is separated and clearly defined, and when you reach the battalion, you get hit with that reality. Unfortunately, now they are also going to pay for it.”
The soldier said he was angered by what he described as threats from the battalion commander, arguing that religious soldiers should be able to stand by the values with which they were raised.
“Everyone has the values they grew up with, and they matter to them,” he said. “Every religious soldier has his rights, and he can insist on them. I can understand them.”
At the same time, he said he also understood the paramedic, who was simply being asked to do her job.
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt, so this has to be prevented before it happens,” he said.
The soldier said a female paramedic is currently serving alongside the Haredi company, but arrangements were made to reduce friction.
“She is physically with us in the company right now,” he said. “We try as much as possible to stay separate and away from the women’s living quarters where she is staying. She doesn’t enter the Namer with us, and they make sure we are in two separate Namers, so there is no problem.”
“She is with us at the outpost, but the IDF is not pick-and-choose. You do what you can. She is not in our living quarters, and it works. You can always find a solution. It is very sad that in this case they did not manage to.”
In the case overnight, however, the operational need overrode the ability to carefully tailor the composition of the force, and the soldiers’ refusal led to the cancellation of the mission.
The incident comes amid broader tensions over the integration of religious and Haredi soldiers into mixed military frameworks. ynet recently reported on plans to close the Haredi Tomer company, whose soldiers are now being integrated into a company that includes both secular and Haredi troops.
The Tomer soldier said those tensions were not going away.
“There are many gaps in the army when it comes to the religious and Haredi public,” he said. “In practice, this happens. No matter how much we try, it will happen. If someone raises his hand and says this harms his values, that is his right.”
“There are so many cases that are not reported,” he added. “When a case like this is reported, it hurts to see that he is punished for it.”
The IDF said in a statement: “A force from the Rotem Battalion operating in the Gaza Strip was required overnight to carry out an operational activity that included an operational patrol using a Namer. Under the Joint Service Order, soldiers with a religious lifestyle are entitled to carry out operational activity in a single-gender framework, except in exceptional cases.”
“In the incident described, the force refused to carry out the operational activity, and as a result the activity was canceled. The incident is being investigated, and command measures will be taken in accordance with the findings.”