The IDF pilot program to integrate women into tank combat roles, which triggered threats from religious yeshiva leaders to stop sending their students to the Armored Corps, will be carried out outside the corps itself, ynet has learned.
The pilot will instead take place within the Border Defense Corps. The framework will be gender-separated: there will be no men in the tank and no men in the company.
In practical terms, the decision means the pilot will be managed outside the Armored Corps, while the Armored Corps will provide professional guidance. The model is intended, among other things, to allow the IDF to continue examining the integration of female tank fighters without changing the structure of its regular armored brigades at this stage, while also responding to sensitivities raised in the military’s internal debate.
The decision was made during a discussion led by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. It comes against the backdrop of an ongoing dispute over the integration of women into armored combat roles, and amid pressure from rabbis and religious figures inside and outside the military who oppose women serving in the Armored Corps’ combat frameworks, mainly because of concerns over mixed-gender service and the character of combat units.
Zamir set two basic conditions for the pilot’s success. The first is full compliance with all professional qualification requirements for an armored fighter, without operational leniencies or adjustments. The second is the ability to establish a combat framework that preserves both operational competence and the IDF’s rules on joint service. The physiological demands placed on the female maneuvering fighters will be identical to those placed on male Armored Corps fighters.
The general message in the discussion was that, given the operational burden and the ongoing war, the IDF needs every male and female fighter. The army also expressed appreciation for women currently serving in combat roles. At the same time, Zamir made clear that expanding women’s integration would take place only if it does not harm operational competence or other populations serving in the IDF.
Zamir also emphasized that one of the lessons from previous pilots was the need to protect the physical health of female fighters. He said injury rates recorded in the past were high and could not serve as the basis for a permanent model. Training will therefore be designed to minimize injuries without lowering professional requirements.
Organizationally, the IDF decided that women will not be integrated into mixed-gender tank crews. If women are integrated into armored combat roles in the future, it will be done in a separate framework, at least at the company level. Accordingly, there is no intention to place female fighters in the IDF’s regular armored brigades. Instead, the army will examine the establishment of a dedicated framework in the future, if the pilot succeeds under the stricter conditions and the participants complete the training track.
The IDF already has female tank crews within the Border Defense Corps. Their operational role is focused on routine border security missions, patrols, observation, prevention of smuggling and stopping infiltrations. Female tank fighters from the “Pereh” company of the Caracal Battalion made history on October 7, 2023, when they fought what was described as the first tank battle in modern history conducted entirely by women. They blocked Hamas terrorists’ advance and received broad praise, including from the chief of staff and commanders in the sector.
In recent weeks, dozens of heads of Hesder yeshivas, religious institutions that combine Torah study with IDF service, signed a sharply worded letter stating that service in the Armored Corps is forbidden under Jewish law. The widening boycott, which includes more than 25 yeshivas and pre-military academy heads, followed a High Court of Justice ruling and the IDF’s decision to advance a pilot for integrating female fighters into maneuvering armored units beginning in November 2026.
The yeshiva leaders said they would not send their students to the Armored Corps, a move that the IDF believes could cause a severe manpower shortage and even harm the corps’ readiness.
The rabbis’ letters came immediately after a report in ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth that told the story behind the petition accepted by the High Court. The report included an interview with a female fighter from the first pilot for maneuvering armored service. After completing her training track and being assigned to a tank commanders’ course, she was told the pilot had been frozen and was transferred to a staff role.
Also interviewed were two young women awaiting enlistment, who spoke about their hope of joining the track that had been planned to begin this coming November. The petition is being accompanied by attorney Yanor Bartal, who last week sent a follow-up letter regarding implementation of the court ruling, seeking to ensure that the High Court’s decision is being carried out by the IDF.