Noam Party leader calls for closure of IDF Gender Affairs Department

In a letter to the IDF chief, MK Avi Maoz demanded that the Gender Affairs Adviser to the Chief of Staff unit be closed immediately, saying that it weakens Israel.

A female IDF soldier shaking out a blanket during a week-long survival course for women in the infantry at an undisclosed location in Israel (photo credit: REUTERS)
A female IDF soldier shaking out a blanket during a week-long survival course for women in the infantry at an undisclosed location in Israel
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Noam Party chairman MK Avi Maoz on Monday called on IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi to close of the IDF Gender Affairs Department.
The Knesset member, known for his strong views on the Reform movement and the LGBT rights movements, came under scrutiny last month for his statement calling for amendments to Government Resolution 2311, which aims to promote gender equality and protect the rights of women in Israel.
In a letter to Kohavi, Maoz termed the army's spirit as "fatally wounded," saying that "foreign spirits and agendas are damaging and eating away at the values of the IDF."
Maoz blamed gender equality for this supposed damage, saying that such issues occupy too much of the army's agenda, weakening morale.
"It has recently been reported in a number of Intelligence Corps. courses that the Hebrew language has been distorted, with references to female soldiers being made in multi-gender language. At a recent graduation ceremony of one of the courses, the course commander, an officer with the rank of major and another who is a colonel, spoke at the ceremony using multi-gender language." Maoz continued, citing examples of places where he believes army morale has been weakened.
He demanded that the Gender Affairs Advisor to the Chief of Staff (known by its Hebrew acronym, Yohalam) unit be immediately disbanded, as he believes that it is destroying the army from within.
"The spread of this perception of gender throughout the IDF must be stopped immediately. We face many security challenges, please do not allow foreign agendas to harm the IDF at the expense of the security of the citizens of Israel," Maoz wrote.
Shortly after the letter was published, he received a response from the "Promoting Gender Equality" forum, in which over 70 women, all key representatives of women's and gender organizations, expressed vehement opposition to Maoz's demand.
 
"We protest in the name of the female IDF fighters who put their lives on the line every day (including over the last week), shoulder to shoulder with their brothers," the response said. 
The forum reminded Maoz and the Noam Party of the IDF's "zero tolerance" policy for sexual harassment, and the significance of recruiting women to serve the country.
"In 1951, David Ben-Gurion, at the time the prime minister and the minister of defense, attended an officers' course graduation ceremony where he said: 'By imposing the duty of military service - we have raised women to the equality... The women of Israel share the responsibility and security of the the state with them," the added.
They women expressed regret that Maoz did not recognize the equal rights that women deserve, and that his letter, if even worthy of a response, certainly deserves condemnation.
"Although MK Maoz was elected by the public, he certainly does not represent 90% of the population, which is evident by what he devotes his energy and time to."