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Hedva Almog, former head of the Women's Corps
Erik Schechter
In early August, the Israel Defense Forces Women�s Corps was disbanded. Unlike other corps, the Women�s Corps was not so much a separate IDF unit as a professional support body for women. With the restructuring, its senior officer, Brig. Gen. Suzy Yogev, has been made adviser to the General Staff on women�s issues. At the same time, Orthodox-Zionist rabbis have objected to the recent introduction of mixed male-female combat units, threatening not to send their hesder yeshivah students, who combine religious learning and military service, to the army.
Reserve Brig-Gen. Hedva Almog, a former Women�s Corps commander and now president of Na�amat, the Histadrut-affiliated women�s organization, says that disbanding the corps threatens sexual equality in the army and suggests that the rabbis have ulterior motives in complaining about mixed combat units.
Why did Israel have a Women�s Corps in the first place?
It was set up to utilize the full potential of women and to support and advise them during their army service.
And how effective was it?
During my term of service, from 1987 to 1991, we got new positions opened up to women and vigorously supported the entry of women into the top ranks of the professional army. For example, we made it possible for a significant number of women to be considered for promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Until then, it was easy for women to reach the rank of major, but not higher.
Why are there still so few top female officers?
It�s the old story of the glass ceiling. When young women see only one female brigadier general and five lieutenant colonels, they think they are wasting their time even aspiring to reach those ranks. Once we get enough women into higher ranks, that critical mass will influence others.
What will be the impact of disbanding the corps?
It�s a serious mistake. The corps was a framework women could rely on for support. Sure, the current chief-of-staff has carried the banner of women�s advancement in the army and done wonderful things. But without the framework of the Women�s Corps, who says some future chief-of-staff can�t reverse the trend? The corps should only have been disbanded when real equality was achieved in the army.
But there�s still an IDF women�s adviser.
There�s a big difference between having one female advisor on the General Staff, among other advisors, and having a structure. In the latter, you have women all the way up the chain-of-command. What will happen when a female soldier complains about sexual harassment? Will a male officer treat the complaint seriously? Will his superior do so?
What about hesder yeshivah boys not wanting to serve in mixed units?
Hesder boys are going to have to learn to control themselves. Are women beyond the pale? Didn�t hesder students attend B�nai Akiva, a mixed youth movement? Anyway, the hesder students go into the army as a group and have little interaction with anyone else. They have male drill instructors, not females.
The Orthodox Zionist camp is just looking for a political issue. If they so desired, their concerns could be solved through negotiations, and not on the backs of women.
Reporter
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