Supreme Court dismisses petition of 2 women wanting to join Armored Corps

Court also threw out the petition of two women who successfully completed military's pilot program.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
Israeli female soldiers walk in front of a tank during an exercise at the end of their tank instructors course at Shizafon base (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
Israeli female soldiers walk in front of a tank during an exercise at the end of their tank instructors course at Shizafon base
(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the petition of two young women who petitioned the court to be allowed to serve in the Armored Corps, ruling that the military’s plan to continue the pilot program has made the requests irrelevant.
According to the court, the decision of IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi to extend the pilot program to women has made the petition immaterial. In addition, the court also threw out the petition of two women who successfully completed the initial pilot program.
Israeli media reported that the judges argued that the petitioners should finish proceedings with the IDF or file a new petition against the new pilot program.
In June 2018, the IDF announced that the military had successfully completed a pilot program to train women on tanks. Two-thirds of the women who started the program finished, including four who became tank commanders. But in April 2019, the military announced that despite the successful pilot program women would not be able to serve in the Armored Corps.
In early January, two of the women who completed the pilot program, Osnat Levi and Noga Shina, along with one of the officers who accompanied their training, Afik Shema, filed a petition against the decision to bar women from the armored corps.
In September, 19-year-old Or Abramson from the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron and Maayan Halberstadt of Jerusalem also filed a petition seeking to have the military explain why women are barred from serving as tank drivers, gunners, radio operators and commanders.
Their petition, which calls for the Supreme Court to change regulations to allow women to serve in front-line combat positions, claims that the army’s refusal to let them serve in tanks is a substantial violation of equal rights.
Dr. Idit Shafran-Gittleman, a researcher on women’s service in the IDF at the Israel Democracy Institute, responded to the Supreme Court’s decision to deny the appeal, saying that Kochavi should follow the United States and United Kingdom and open all military units to both genders based on professional criteria.
“IDF commanders must act to integrate women in combat units and to participate in the pilot experiments in a fair and egalitarian manner, willingly and unequivocally. Twenty-five years after the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Alice Miller case (who wanted to enlist in the air force pilot’s course), it seems that Israeli society still needs to be reminded that equality is a fundamental democratic principle, and that the IDF, like any other institution in the country, must act accordingly,” she said.
According to Gittleman’s research, 86% of positions in the IDF have been opened up to women, the number of women serving as combat troops in the ground forces has increased by 350% between 2013 and 2017 and the number of female combat soldiers in all IDF corps has increased seven times over since 2005.
In the next stage of the pilot program, which will be at least twice the size of the previous one, the military will increase the height and weight requirements of women who want to take part in the program and expand the time that women will be deployed to carry out operational missions along the borders with Egypt and Jordan.
IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman said the results of the extended pilot program are expected in a year and a half.