Equal Playing Field

September 23, 2007 - 12:30 PM by Stephanie

The debate over opening up parts of Israel’s Army to Israel’s women is thriving because in the coming week an investigative committee will present findings and recommendations vis a vis female suitability to specific military roles.

To be more precise: Combat roles have been cut off to Israeli women for decades due to concerns over issues of men & women working closely in confined spaces or worry over a woman’s fate if she is taken P.O.W. by enemy troops.

This week the to-be-named committee made up of military academics and officers will recommend that combat roles be broadened to incorporate women.

The heart and soul of the army is combat, and if we are in the army we need to be at its heart, retired general Yehudit Ben-Natan who commanded the army’s defunct Women’s Corps told Israel Radio. Let there be tanks with all-female crews and all-woman missile batteries, because we can do it, and we must stop allocating duties by gender.’

“Instead of asking what roles are suitable for women, we’ll ask which women or men are suitable for which roles,” the committee advised. Women will be given the equal opportunity to compete for positions according to specific standards. The IDF will do away with combat roles labeled “female” or “male” only.

Another report released this week, however, highlights physical differences between men and women in endurance and stamina related roles.
Read more about the issue here.

Pull up a chair. This promises to be interesting…

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