IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir announced on Thursday that the military has halted this year’s round of women who were training for the past six months to become combat drivers.
The statement said that a revised pilot program, amended and tailored specifically to standards aligned with expectations for women’s physical prowess, will be rolled out next year.
The decision is controversial, as the High Court of Justice has pressed the military to open more, not fewer, tracks for women in combat.
Also, women have been successful in several special forces units, such as Oketz, which works with dogs; the Yahalom combat engineers; and the 669 rescue unit.
Women in elite IDF units
The Jerusalem Post has even interviewed women who are now commanders in some of these units and are training new rounds of women.
In November 2024, a woman was even accepted to the ground forces’ most elite unit, Sayeret Matkal.
In light of the countervailing trends, it was unclear what led to stopping the course after all these recent successes.Various groups expressed hope that this was a one-time miss that would be quickly corrected and lead to female combat drivers starting next year, but they were also worried that the move could signal a regression in the issue under the relatively new IDF chief.
According to the IDF, Zamir endorsed these changes following recommendations by IDF Ground Forces Commander Maj.-Gen. Nadav Lotan.
While the IDF said that its study of the progress of the women doing the combat drivers course showed that their professional performance was strong and equal to their male counterparts, it also stated that their physical and combat fitness levels fell short of the standards required for the role.
In addition, the IDF cited medical data showing potential health risks for the women if they continued the current training, especially since its intensity was due to increase. According to the IDF, women in the program had received extensive command-level attention, including close oversight from medical and fitness personnel, to ensure they had optimal conditions for success.
The IDF expressed hope that the new pilot program would have a better chance of success given some of the lessons learned from the current trial experience. Moreover, it said that the women in the course would be offered other combat opportunities in the military if they wished to continue on that path or could switch to office duties if they preferred a change.
Further, the military noted that ongoing processes in the IDF have led to 90% of the roles in the military now being open to women, with 20% of all combat roles now being women.
Forum Dvorah Chairwoman IDF Col. (res.) Pnina Sharvit Baruch noted that prior research has shown that appropriate pre-course physical training can get women to the necessary physical levels needed to pass combat courses.She said that the forum would coordinate with the IDF to ensure better results going forward.
Further, Sharvit Baruch said that this one missed course could not serve as a broader red light to block women in combat roles, adding that having more women in combat roles is a national interest in light of the current existing significant shortfall of combat fighters in the IDF, estimated at 7,000-10,000 due to killed and wounded soldiers during the war.
A number of female combat fighters also showed steely nerves on October 7, engaging in gunfights and killing a significant number of Hamas terrorists.