Female troops are under assault, and not just in Bnei Brak |
It is impossible to know exactly what motivated the violent mob that converged upon two soldiers in Bnei Brak on Sunday, forcing them to run and hide in fear for their lives before being rescued by police.
Authorities have indicated that the uniformed squad commanders from the Education and Youth Corps were in the ultra-Orthodox stronghold to visit a recruit who was set to enlist in their unit next month, a standard practice.
Their presence, though, set off false rumors that they were there to arrest a draft dodger or forcibly draft a young religious man. Such hearsay has sparked rioting elsewhere in the past.
So the fact that both soldiers were female may not have been a central factor egging their attackers on.
Yet Sunday’s melee was more than just the most recent battle in a war being waged by an ultra-Orthodox community seeking to cut itself off from the rest of society.
With the place of women in the military under fresh assault from some corners of society, as the ranks of female soldiers, including those from religious backgrounds, continue to swell, the riot was also a manifestation of the toxic fraying of the consensus around the Israel Defense Force’s push for gender equality.
More women joining up
Since the establishment of the State of Israel, young women, from the age of 18, have been obligated to enlist in the IDF. Those claiming a religious lifestyle are exempted, though they also have the option of serving the nation’s civilian needs as part of what is known as National Service.
According to data provided by the IDF to the Movement for Freedom of Information, the recruitment rate among female graduates of secular schools has remained stable over the last decade, standing at approximately 92 percent.
However, the last several years have seen young women coming from national-religious backgrounds increasingly joining their secular counterparts, rather than signing up for the civilian corps.
According to the data, between the years 2018 and 2025, the rate of women identified as part of the national-religious community enlisting in the IDF rose from 25% to 31%. This upward trend began even earlier, despite aggressive campaigns by conservative rabbis against women serving – especially in combat roles.
Though there is some overlap in belief and practice, the national-religious community is distinct from the ultra-Orthodox community in several key ways. While both are God-fearing, those who count themselves as national religious are usually more willing to engage with secular society, including in education, employment, and culture. As a whole, the community is ardently Zionist and supports the military.
The ultra-Orthodox, by contrast, generally seek to separate themselves from the rest of society to protect their religious mores, including strict adherence to gender roles. Many parts of the community reject Zionism, prize the study of Jewish texts over gainful employment, and refuse military service, including when that means, for men, ignoring the requirement to serve.
According to official data, only 0.3% of women who graduated from the Haredi educational system serve. Among men, the number is only slightly higher.
The Bnei Brak skirmish followed a wave of media attacks against female........