The High Court of Justice is expected to hear tomorrow (Tuesday) one of the most volatile issues in the IDF: the petition of the female fighters in the Supreme Court (the High Court of Female Combatants). The panel is headed by the President of the Supreme Court, Justice Esther Hayut. The petition seeks to establish that women have an equal right to be assigned to combat positions in special units.
The person expected to testify tomorrow in the Supreme Court will be the commander of Sayeret Matkal, Colonel H., who left his post about four years ago. Colonel H is expected to make it clear to the judges that there is no need for a pilot and that women should be sorted into elite units. Col. H. and his deputy, Lieutenant Colonel A., tried in the past to integrate women into the unit, but the senior echelon of the IDF opposed this.
Commander of Unit 669, Lt. Col. S., on integrating female fighters || Photo: IDF Spokesperson
The Dvora Forum – Women in Foreign Policy and National Security, which works to promote women in the security establishment, among other things, issued a statement saying that it "regrets that the IDF continues to place barriers for women, contrary to the letter of the law, and has not yet succeeded in classifying its soldiers according to the requirements of the job and not according to gender.
Indeed, even though the IDF is more open to recruiting women for combat roles, the demand to conduct more and more pilots prevents women from integrating equally at this time. It is important to remember that female fighters already constitute 18% of the combat system, and their operational contribution is vital and significant.
We at the Dvora Forum have been accompanying the petitioners for years and strengthening their hands until the Supreme Court decides on this important petition."
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