The IDF and Women in Combat

I have never been a fan of women in the military with respect to joining men in any kind of combat role in the military. Not because I don’t think they can do the job. Although I do question the notion that women generally have the same upper-body strength as men. They do not. Which can place them at a disadvantage. I am, however, sure that many women can do the job well enough to qualify. Especially if the standards for qualifying have been lowered to accommodate those differences. (Which is, after all, what equity is about - but I digress.)

My objection is based on the nature of human sexuality. To deny that there is physical attraction between the sexes is to deny nature. Placing men and women together under intimate circumstances is, in my view, an invitation to sexual activity—some of it consensual and some of it not. The latter of which is one reason I am opposed to integrating women with men even in the U.S. Army. It isn’t rocket science to understand why there has been an increase in sexual harassment and abuse in the military since women were integrated into it.

To argue that men ought to better control themselves, or that the military ought to have stricter policies about sexual abuse, does not negate the argument that there would likely be far less abuse if men and women were not integrated in the first place. A policy driven, in part, by the equity demands of modern-day feminism. But again - I digress.

If one is a religious Jew, one must avoid - NOT only situations of harassment and abuse, but even situations of consensual intimacy outside of marriage. Sexual intimacy outside of marriage is forbidden by Jewish law and, in certain cases, constitutes an Issur Kareis - a very severe biblical penalty that includes premature death at the hands of Heaven. (Why that is the case is beyond the scope of this post.)

In Israel, this issue affects many religious IDF soldiers. The close contact between men and women - combined with the nature of human sexual attraction, especially at the young age at which most IDF soldiers serve creates a serious risk of violating Halacha.

True, every Jew must exercise willpower to avoid temptation in matters that violate Halacha. But to be deliberately placed in an environment that may require extraordinary restraint to resist what is natural is asking a lot. The temptation to succumb to nature can be overwhelming and could easily overpower the inclination to resist.

The obvious solution, from my perspective, is not to place men and women together in the first place.

But Israel’s left wing -  eager to present the country as the most enlightened  and progressive in the world - has elevated feminism to the highest of pedestals. That means men and women must serve together in all areas of the military. Any limitation, it is argued, would be sexist because it would deny women opportunities that men automatically get.

What about honoring Halacha...

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