Jerusalem, 24 June, 2026 (TPS-IL) — IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met yesterday with rabbis from the religious Zionist community amid growing tensions over a pilot program integrating Women Into the Armored Corps, a move that has prompted some religious educational institutions to consider halting the sending of students to tank units, the military said.
According to the IDF, Zamir stressed that the military faces significant manpower pressures. He told the delegation that the army “is still short thousands of combat troops and needs every male and female soldier to fulfill its missions and consolidate the campaign’s achievements.”
Zamir said women’s service in combat and staff roles was of “tremendous operational importance.”
“These measures will be carried out in accordance with operational needs and while meeting professional standards, without compromise,” he said.
The rabbis raised concerns about the conditions faced by observant soldiers, particularly in mixed-gender service environments. They emphasized the need for every soldier to serve in line with his religious beliefs and values while still meeting IDF operational requirements.
They also said they would continue encouraging students toward meaningful military service.
Religious Zionist men often enlist through the Hesder program, which combines Torah study with military service. Women graduating from religious high schools are generally eligible for religious exemptions from conscription, though some still choose to serve.
Women already serve in a range of combat positions across the IDF, and the military has recently expanded pilot programs in other elite units. In early June, a female soldier became the first woman to complete training for the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit.
A separate trial integrating women into the Combat Engineering Corps’ Yahalom unit was recently deemed successful, while another pilot is underway for the elite search-and-rescue Unit 669 of the Israeli Air Force. A planned trial for armored corps integration has been delayed.
The Air Force and air defense units include a significant proportion of female personnel. In the Israeli Air Force, women account for about half of those serving in the Air Defense Array, a unit central to intercepting incoming missile threats. The IDF said approximately 5,000 female reservists served in the Air Force during the March 2026 fighting with Iran, while around 130 female aircrew combat personnel took part in operational missions.