Twelve heads of Israeli hesder yeshivas said Tuesday they would stop sending their students to serve in the IDF’s armored corps in the next draft cycle, in protest of a pilot program to integrate women into combat roles in tank units.
Hesder yeshivas are religious Zionist institutions that combine Torah study with military service, and many of their students serve in combat units.
The dispute centers on an IDF plan to integrate female fighters into the maneuvering armored corps. The first cohort was originally expected to begin in November 2025, but the program was later postponed to November 2026.
In a letter, the rabbis said they viewed with “great severity” a High Court decision requiring the IDF to integrate women into tank units. They also criticized the state and military for what they called a weak response.
“The IDF is the army of the people of Israel, and the sanctity of the camp is the basis of the IDF’s spirit and of success in defeating the enemy,” they wrote. “Putting female soldiers in tanks together with male soldiers causes spiritual and practical harm to combat capability.”
The rabbis said they had concluded that service in the armored corps was forbidden under Jewish law and would therefore not send students there beginning with the next draft.
They stressed that their students would continue enlisting in other combat units, but said the IDF must provide suitable alternatives for religious combat soldiers who are not suited for infantry service.
Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party and a former IDF deputy chief of staff, called the move “a disgrace.”
“Women will serve wherever they want and in every role the IDF needs them,” he said. “The IDF is the national army of the people, not a sectarian militia.”