Dozens of religious Hesder soldiers found themselves serving in mixed battalions with female combat soldiers in recent weeks, Arutz Sheva reported.

The soldiers complained to their commanders and asked to be transferred to other units, but their requests went unheeded. The soldiers say that the integration of female combat soldiers into their battalion has made army service impossible for them.

One of the soldiers explained. “At first, we were in a regular battalion, but over time, girls began to join—at first in one company, then in another company, and apparently this plague will continue to grow.”

“We are a large group of soldiers who requested to be transferred from the very start and were met with constant refusal because we are in a ‘gender company’ (a company designed to promote gender integration) and the girls are in other companies. In the last deployment, the entire battalion was in one school complex for almost a whole week, and the spiritual obstacles were out of control. I’ve reached a breaking point and can’t continue like this anymore.”

Efrat Lupo, founder of the Soldiers’ Wives For The Kedushah Of The Machaneh organization, responded to the report by stating, “Enough with harming religious soldiers in the name of progressivism. The IDF must respect its soldiers who are Shomrei Mitzvos.”

“It’s absurd to talk about recruiting Chareidim without allowing Shomrei Mitzvos to serve in the IDF according to halacha,” she concluded.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)