Locked and loaded

September 19, 2008 - 8:02 AM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, War 

Women in the IDFWith record-setting percentages of women in our parliament, a landmark female prime minister back in the Seventies and today’s female politicians primed to rise the ranks of leadership, it’s easy to make the case for Israel as a gender equality global leader.

The same is true for military integration, the War of Independence representing a landmark in the annals of warfare thanks to unprecedented proportions of ladies in combat roles. And since then, the IDF hasn’t looked back, drafting post-high school teenagers of both sexes to years of obligatory service – the only army in the world to do so.

Sure, jokingly referred to as “mattresses” and coffee getters, young women in the IDF are excluded from some combat roles, but in the big picture, we’re talking about an exceptionally co-ed army.

A landmark 1995 Supreme Court ruling opened up the Air Force’s prestigious pilot’s training course to women, with 11 women currently serving as pilots today. According to IDF sources, 14 percent of female reserves served in combat positions in the Second Lebanon War two summers ago, and about 20 percent of the individual combat roles open to women are occupied by them. However, some 90 percent of the IDF’s various occupation tracks are officially co-ed.

The manner in which the IDF leadership uses its female manpower is an object of scrutiny, but, as with other IDF matters, this scrutiny is rarely given access to the inner workings of the military’s decision making, data archives and leadership culture. But now an international conference is offering an honest look at the experience of women in the “integrated” IDF in the context of the role of military women around the world, and the Women’s eNews website’s interest has been piqued.

The Israeli Defense Forces gathering this week drew representatives from 11 countries–including India, Austria and Colombia–who take an active part in integration of women in militaries and defense ministries. Organizers said it was a chance to highlight Israel’s experience while emphasizing integrated women’s service in militaries across the globe.

“We have a lot of things in common,” Brig.-Gen. Yehudit Grisaro, advisor to the chief of the general staff on women’s issues, said during the sidelines of the conference. “Whoever discusses women’s service in the army needs to deal with similar challenges that involve culture, stereotypes, gender perceptions, social issues, religion and state.”

….”We have a clear picture of what areas we need to make progress on, at what pace and how we will move forward,” Grisaro, who supervised the conference, told Women’s eNews, adding that not all suggestions will be carried out quickly.

So, yes, women in the Israeli military: Just like any other distinctly Israeli phenomenon, a case of polar dichotomies. Ancient ways and progressive approaches somehow both operating at full steam.

Image courtesy fejron from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

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