The number of religious women wanting to enlist into combat units in the IDF has increased since the October 7 massacre and the start of the ensuing war. In 2024, a total of 3,500 religious women voluntarily enlisted in the military, 10% of whom were recruited into combat roles, according to data published by the Ohr Torah Stone institutions.
To address this rise in demand, in November 2024 the IDF recently launched a combat field intelligence platoon for religious female soldiers in the Border Protection Corps Training School.
Soldiers in this women-only platoon within the Field Intelligence Corps will undergo eight months of training, at the end of which they will serve in an existing women’s combat battalion.
Lone soldiers Pvt. Maayan, aged 18, from Los Angeles, and Pvt. Amalia, aged 20, from Washington volunteered for combat service in the platoon and have undergone infantry training for the past three months.
In conversation with The Jerusalem Post, the two modern-Orthodox women discussed how the platoon met their religious requirements, along with its role in addressing the challenges they encountered as lone soldiers.
For Amalia, enlisting in the IDF was not a path she had ever envisaged. However, on October 7, she was studying at a seminary in Israel. Following the massacre, the volunteering she undertook in conjunction with her seminary led her to decide to enlist in the army.
A month before the seminary program ended, she said she had a realization: “How can I be here for an entire year and not give back?”
She wanted to “give back to the people,” and “back to the country,” which ultimately led to enlisting as a combat soldier. “There was no other role that I wanted,” she stated.
MAAYAN HAD aspired to enlist into the IDF from a young age. “I wanted to draft into the army since I was 10. It’s been a dream of mine since I can remember,” she said.
She wished “to be a role model” for others, and “defend the country and the people.”
The October 7 massacre did not lessen her resolve. On the contrary, she noted, “The 7th happened, and my dad asked me: ‘Do you still want to draft? Do you still want to become a soldier? Do you still want to go into combat?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
The massacre “changed a lot of mindsets,” as well as altering her own, Maayan noted.
“What happened on October 7 can never happen again. And if I can do something to take a part in making the change, I will do everything in my power to make sure that nothing like that ever happens to our people ever again,” she affirmed.
WHILE DETERMINED to enlist, Maayan, who comes from a modern-Orthodox family said “a big fear” for both her and her parents, was “that I would go into the army religious and come out not religious.”
'If anything, my religion has strengthened here'
The observance of Judaism and the presence of Jewish faith in one’s life is of great significance to her family. Drafting into a religious platoon removed any misgivings she may have had regarding the possible impact of her service on her religious life.
With the religious platoon, “the fear of not being religious has completely gone out of the window,” she said.
“If anything, my religion has strengthened here,” Maayan added.
The women of the platoon would often address questions from surrounding soldiers regarding Halacha (Jewish law) or Judaism in general. “They come to us, because they see we really are a big example, and we take away the fear that anyone may have about being religious,” Maayan said.
Amalia, who had not initially thought of drafting into a religious platoon, pointed out the advantage of women in the new platoon not having to ask for their religious requirements to be met. Both privates described the military’s minute attention to details when addressing the religious requirements of the women in the platoon.
Three times a day, the soldiers are allocated time to pray. On a weekly basis, a rabbanit [learned woman] visits the women, teaching them on various religious topics, whether the soldiers are in the field or on base.
“It doesn’t matter where we are, once a week she comes,” Maayan said, “She’s there. And she’s amazing.”
On Shabbat, the military provides the soldiers with two hot meals, challah bread, and the necessities for performing the kiddush and havdalah ceremonies.
Pocket-sized Tehillim (the Book of Psalms), prayer books, and Bibles are also made available to the soldiers.
Every night on Hanukkah, “No matter where we were, we were lighting Hanukkah candles,” Maayan recalled.
Amalia noted the heightened spirit of motivation among the girls in the platoon.
“I think the girls are actually more motivated because none of them had to draft. And they definitely did not have to draft into combat, but they all made the decision to be here.”
Being surrounded by religious women in a religious environment gives them a sense of togetherness. “We’re all doing it together,” she said.
Such a support system is significant for the Amalia and Maayan when navigating serving in the military as lone soldiers.
“PHYSICALLY, IT’S not that hard,” Maayan said, in reference to their training. “Once you’re there, you’re in the situation, you don’t want to quit. You’re there, you’re going to do the best that you can.” She added: “It all depends on your mindset.”
For them, the challenge comes more from the “mental aspect.” While both are supported in their decisions by their families from afar, they noted the difficulty in being by themselves.
“My parents are very supportive,” Amalia said, adding that her older sister had served in a combat role in the army.
The term “lone soldier,” is “very aptly named,” she affirmed. “Everyone is going through something hard when you’re in the army but being here alone, it is hard.”
One instance in which the absence of family is made particularly poignant is during military ceremonies. In the course of their first ceremony, Amalia recalled, “None of our families were here, we just sat on the side watching everyone else hugging their parents. That’s obviously challenging, it is lonely.”
Maayan expressed a similar sentiment. “My biggest challenge is, obviously, being away from my family.”
She, too, is backed by her family, who, she said, “sees that I have an important role. I’m a role model for my siblings, for my friends, and my family.”
“Being in the army, it gives you meaning, it gives you purpose,” Maayan said.
Additionally, her friends abroad, whose lives contrast starkly with hers, whether they are studying in “seminary, yeshiva, or in college,” have noted the “meaningful” life she leads. “They’re proud of me, that I’ve been able to find that meaning and that purpose,” she affirmed.
Without the immediate presence of their families, the two soldiers noted the challenges of returning home on Friday mornings and having to tend to household chores, such as laundry or preparations for Shabbat.
“The army is very supportive,” Maayan said, explaining how they were able to speak to their families on Sunday mornings, instead of the assigned time for Israelis on Friday mornings and Saturday nights, in order to bypass the time difference and Shabbat in the United States.
They spoke of the support they get from the women in the platoon, which includes other lone soldiers. “The girls are very uplifting here,” Amalia said.
“Because everyone is going through something, the girls around us, they’re so supportive,” Maayan said. “They help you, they uplift you.”