Sixteen soldiers from the forward company of the Rotem Battalion in the Givati Brigade, which also includes yeshiva students serving in the military, were sent to military detention after refusing an order to go on an operational patrol in a Namer armored personnel carrier in Gaza after learning that a female paramedic would be joining them, the IDF announced shortly before midnight on Sunday night. Five soldiers who led the incident were sentenced to 10 days in detention, while 11 others were sentenced to five days.
Two of the five soldiers sentenced to 10 days in detention will meet with an assessment committee before returning to combat duty. The soldiers were tried by the battalion commander, who determined the punishments according to each soldier’s level of involvement in the incident.
Because of the soldiers’ refusal, the operation in Gaza was canceled. According to the IDF, while the force’s commanders agreed to carry out the mission, their soldiers refused to take part because of the female paramedic’s inclusion. In an effort to change their minds, the company commander held a discussion with them in which he explained the importance and urgency of the mission, and the brigade rabbi also ruled that they were permitted to participate. Despite this, the soldiers stood their ground and refused the order.
“These are young soldiers, new to the battalion. They still don’t know how things work,” a soldier in the parallel Tomer Company, which is made up of Haredi troops, told ynet. “During training, everything is separated and clearly defined, and when you arrive at the battalion, you get hit with that reality. Unfortunately, now they’re going to pay for it too.”
Alissa Krant, who serves in the reserves as a paramedic in Brigade 271, told ynet in response to the incident: “I read about this at the height of a reserve deployment with a combat engineering battalion. As a paramedic doing my job and fully invested in the success of our male and female soldiers, it is very frustrating to hear that an order was refused because of the presence of a female paramedic like me.”
Alissa Krant, who serves in the reserves as a paramedic
Krant added: “When I go out on a mission, I come with medical training. I am a professional, this is my job, and I am responsible for the lives of the people with me. When a soldier is wounded and needs medical treatment, he will not care in that moment whether the person treating him is a man or a woman. Even from the perspective of Jewish law and religion, once it is a matter of saving a life, for life-saving purposes, this should not even be an issue under discussion.
“Since the start of the war, women have entered enemy territory, served alongside men without any special accommodations and done exactly the same work required of them. Hearing something like this does not align with the values of the IDF or with what we bring to the military. Our mission is shared. Our war is not against one another internally — we have enough enemies on the outside,” she added.
Regarding the punishment handed down to the soldiers, Krant said: “I am not happy about any soldier being punished. I am sure what motivated them was belief and not an intention to harm anyone. I am glad the military is taking this issue seriously and putting it on the agenda. In my view, isolated punishment will not bring about change. Change will come through proper explanation and by instilling an understanding of what our role means within the system.”