There are two examples of sliding to the right that are very troubling to me. And they are not from the same quarters. One is from the Charedi sector and the other is from the Dati sector.
The Winograd Commission Report of the recent war in Lebanon has been released. But according to a Ynet article, if one is to read news reports of it in the Charedi media the accompanying photos of the commission members are only of the men. Women have been photo-shopped out.
This is not a new phenomenon. Hamodia and the Yated have been doing this for years. They never feature a picture of any women. I could never understand that. And I question exactly what the Chumra is about. What is the problem with having a picture of a totally Tznius woman?
By going to such lengths in eliminating Tznius pictures of women doesn’t that feed the desire by some women to dress in Burkas? If one cannot even look at a picture of even a face in a newspaper then the logical deduction is that a real face must be even worse! Why not Burkas, then?
Yet there is not a single Posek that mandates a Burka. Quite the opposite, I believe. They discourage it… perhaps even forbid it! But a photo in a newspaper?! That’s Pritzus! And that makes no sense what so ever. Is it any wonder why so many modern women say that Orthodoxy is anti woman? Even though Orthodoxy is not anti woman - it’s hard to argue that position when there is this kind of thing going on. Rabbinic leaders ought to take stock of this unnecessary Chumra and prevent it from becoming the norm even in the Charedi world.
Then there is the story about some Religious Hesder students going to prison rather than take instruction from female army personnel. I guess they too have been indoctrinated. I’m not sure why they feel that way. What is the problem with religious soldiers learning army techniques from trained women as long as Halacha is observed in doing so?
This is not to say that I think the Israeli army is correct in forcing religious men to be trained by women if there are qualified men available to do it. If it upsets the religious sensibilities of these men they should be given reasonable accommodation. But the question is why does it upset the religious sensibilities to the extent that they feel they would rather be jailed than comply with the military program?
The only way I can understand it is if they are being forced to do so because of an anti religious agenda. Then I side completely with the soldiers. But if it is not anti religious and simply a matter of military expedience to be trained by the most qualified instructors available and those happen to be women... what’s the problem? As long as the training is in accordance with Halacha, there shouldn’t be any.
My guess is that it is the same slippery slope that is happening in the Charedi world: The slide to the right.
If that is the issue and it is not to fight an anti religious agenda then acts such as those the soldiers took are wrong. It perpetuates an ill feeling between the secular and the religious communities that might have serious consequences in military combat circumstances. There is a reason for having camaraderie among soldiers.
These soldiers apparently acted alone, without asking any Shailos. Thye chose to go to jail rather than take training from female instructors. And though the rabbi quoted in the article supports them, it is unclear to me if this was a Halachic Psak... or just moral support.
There ought to be a way to accommodate the army’s needs and the religious sensibilities of soldiers - a way where each side can be respectful of the other. I don’t think that happened here. Who was at greater fault? I don’t know, but I think this type of thing can and should be avoided. Otherwise it only makes everyone concerned look bad: The secular army leaders come out looking like Torah bashers and the religious soldiers come out looking like religious fanatics.
It would behoove both sides to get together and prevent anything like this from happening again. The secular side ought to be more accommodating and the religious side ought to not make religious protests when it is not Halachicly called for. Seems like common sense to me.
