International Women's Day is a universally celebrated date, but during the current "Swords of Iron" War it would appear that a new type of Israeli femininity has been created, which is worthy of its own conceptualization. The range of diversity among women has been stretched to its very limits. On the one hand – they occupy one end of the spectrum as victims characterized by helplessness, in view of the horrors of murder, rape, and women being taken captive. On the other hand – they are also taking pride of place at the other end of the spectrum as those pushing the frontiers, in which women, in their capacity as fighters, both by taking up arms and in their spirit, have reached the very peak of heroism and altruism, which has changed the face of the war.
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More than any theoretical question, conclusions, or insights, I am particularly curious to ask Dr. Meytal Eran-Jona, a sociologist and gender researcher, which female figure who has gained publicity during the war has made the greatest impression on her. "I was particularly impressed by the women combat soldiers, who on October 7, wasted no time by jumping into their tanks and dashing from Nitsana on the Egyptian border to the Gaza border where they fought for 17 hours," replies Dr. Eran-Jona (52), married with three children, two of whom are female soldiers.
"Faced with absolute chaos, when the chain of command had broken down and there was nobody to lead the combat management effort, which was basically a complete mess with terrible losses, these women acted with resourcefulness, ingenuity, and tremendous courage. They simply fought to the best of their ability, without adequate preparation and without the appropriate CONOPS (Concept of Operations). The person who really caught my attention was the tank commander, who during an interview with her failed to understand why people were making a fuss about the fact that women were involved in the fighting."
This particular interview was broadcast on Channel 12 News, whose well-known anchor Danny Kushmaro, praised their bravery and with a considerable degree of pathos declared: "In fact, this is the first ever female tank battle in the IDF. What you did is really a type of historic battle." Staff sergeant Hilah, the tank commander, replied to this with disregard: "So what, what difference does it make? Did the terrorists know that the tanks were operated by girls? No. Why do you think that they saw Michal's hair waving outside of her commander's helmet? Boys, girls, what difference does it make?"
"That statement symbolizes the current generation of these brave young women, for whom being a combat soldier is nothing to get excited about, this is purely a matter of routine," says Eran-Jona.
Exemplary figures
With all due respect to the female combat soldiers, and they certainly deserve considerable respect, we cannot simply ignore women who are not fighters, but who succeeded by their mere words in changing the atmosphere of the war, on occasions at the most unexpected moment of all. For example, Iris Haim, who sent a message of support to those soldiers who had accidentally shot and killed her son Yotam, one of the three hostages who succeeded in escaping from their Hamas captors, and managed to lift our broken spirit; and Rachel Edri from Ofakim, who survived 19 hours as a hostage in her own home to Hamas terrorists to be eventually rescued with the smile of victory on her face.
The elderly women from the kibbutzim are also exemplary figures, as they came out of captivity insisting on doing so on their feet, thus conveying a tremendous sense of strength; as well as Tsuf Eshhar, who asked the public to pray for the successful second kidney transplant of Na'aran, her husband, following his death after being mortally wounded during reserve service. We can add to that a whole list of widows and bereaving mothers, who have spoken the language of immense courage, espousing unity with a degree of power that we have not previously witnessed.
Clearly, we have also seen much male bravery during this war, but it appears that it has been, above all, the women who have succeeded in surprising us with both their deeds and their words, and thus have played a key part in changing the overall atmosphere of the war.
Time and time again I have found myself gaping in awe at their strength
"I totally agree," she nods. "Rachel from Ofakim is to my mind a genuine role model. Using her feminine wisdom, she took her maternal skills, the art of looking after others, and applied it to "take care of" the terrorists who were holding her hostage. This manipulation enabled her to coax the terrorists over to her side, to play for time, and to stay alive. She used all her expertise as a mother and a woman to break the danger down and to gain time, and in doing so she saved her husband and herself. She had no weapon – all she had was her femininity, the food she brought, the friendly conversations she held with them and even tending to one of the terrorist's wounds. She created something from nothing.
"Iris Haim also used her soft, female capabilities not as a weapon but as a means of evoking compassion. From such a terrible tragedy that she had undergone, she succeeded in feeling compassion towards the soldiers and displaying profound empathy for their sorrow and pain. Not only did she succeed in being Yotam's mother, but also in seeing the children behind the soldiers, knowing that they too have mothers, and taking action to absolve them from any responsibility for that disaster. She, along with many other women too, succeeded in bringing an extremely moving female quality to the story of the war."
We are still in the middle of the war, and it might still be somewhat premature for conclusions, but yes – it is interesting to think of what type of femininity we might evolve with from this war.
"In order to answer that question, I will provide some theoretical background: liberal feminism believes that equality will arrive via the participation of women in all forms of social life, work, the army, and in decision-making. As somebody who adheres to a liberal feminist worldview, I believe that we need to take action via legislation, lobbying, and exerting influence to integrate women in all walks of life – in the military including in combat units," Eran-Jona explains.
She implements her worldview in practice via her membership in Forum Dvorah, whose objective is to promote equal representation for women in key decision-making hubs, in the political-security establishment, and in public discourse, based on the understanding that this will provide a significant contribution to Israel's national security.
"In contrast to the liberal feminism that my colleagues from the Forum and I believe in, there is also the approach of radical feminism, which believes that there is no point in fighting for equality in the army, as discrimination against women is a structural part and parcel of all militaristic entities, and the integration of women in the army serves as a mere fig leaf to cover this over and essentially means collaborating with those forces that perceive women as being inferior. Therefore, according to those who adopt this point of view, it is better to work to integrate women into spheres such as hi-tech.
"The campaign of liberal feminism to integrate women in the army began back in the 1990s with the petition of Alice Miller to the High Court of Justice (HCJ Miller v. Minister of Defense), which opened the door for women to apply for positions as pilots in the IAF. Since then, women have been integrated into more and more combat positions, but there is still a long way ahead until all the combat units are made available to women, so that every woman who both wants to and is deemed appropriate for that position, should be able to be integrated in that unit."
The stalled revolution
In an academic article that she wrote, Eran-Jona termed the service of women in IDF combat units the "Stalled Revolution". In other words, in recent years the trend of integrating women in combat positions has indeed stalled. She claims that the reason for this is that the processes of significant change that have occurred in the integration of women in the IDF have also been accompanied by strong voices and forces acting against their service in the combat units.
"A struggle has been waged between worldviews and interests of groups who believe in liberal feminism and rabbis from the religious population who oppose it. The opposition does not necessarily stem from the actual religious population itself. You can speak with religious soldiers and they will tell you that as far as they are concerned there is no problem with the integration of female combat soldiers. However, the leadership of that particular sector of the population is extremely concerned about the integration of women and tries to act in a number of different ways to wield influence on the IDF from within, with a view to ensuring that large swathes of the army remain out of bounds for women.
"The religious population definitely has many achievements to its credit, especially as those who are at the forefront of the fighting, but this in itself cannot come at the expense of women's rights. This is the reason why in recent years, despite a series of HCJ petitions and legal battles, women have still to be integrated into all IDF combat units.
"In a number of extremely heroic incidents, the war has proven just how women are able to fight and that they have the motivation to fight too. We have seen this in the various rapid response squads in the Gaza belt communities, in how women played a key part in the fighting on October 7, and the women who are currently playing an important role in the combat forces in the Gaza Strip, in both medical and combat positions. In addition, the arguments that used to be voiced, claiming that women should not be allowed to enter combat zones due to concerns of them being taken captive and ultimately being subjected to sexual violence, have become slightly less relevant after it was actually numerous non-combatant women who were among the first to be abducted.
"Civilian women and non-combat female soldiers were abducted, of course alongside the elderly, men, and children. Suddenly the distinction between who is permitted to be in captivity, as it were, in our perception, that this is a category limited to male soldiers alone, has been eroded to a large extent. Every debate on the topic of female combat soldiers would give rise to the famous question, 'And what will happen if women are taken captive, and what will happen if women are hurt during battle.' Women are perceived as those who bring life into the world, and we find it difficult to accept a reality in which they are wounded, killed, and raped. That argument, however unfortunate it may be, has actually now crumbled and disintegrated.
"After women displayed great initiative and saved civilians, demonstrating acts of unparalleled courage in combat, even the Chief of Staff spoke out and said that it is now a non-issue to ask whether or not women are able to function as combat soldiers. That question is, to a certain extent, now behind us. But do I think that on the day after the war women will genuinely be able to play a part in all the units? I am still not sure. As the power that the religious leadership wields in the army coupled with the intensity of its opposition to women's military service are extremely extensive."
During the current "Swords of Iron" War, some 40 thousand women have been called up for reserve duty – this is an unprecedented number. Having said that, 250 thousand men were called up for reserve service, leaving their wives at home once again to be plunged into the 'traditional' world where looking after the children and seeing to the housekeeping are tasks left entirely up to them. Eran-Jona thinks that we need to look at this issue through the prism of two distinct spheres: "There is the sphere of the IDF career soldiers, whose spouses are used to the regular routine in which the burden of running the household is placed on them, and in essence, they are mobilized to look after the home on behalf of the army. Now, during wartime, in addition to managing the household affairs, they have to contend with a much greater degree of worry and concern for their partner, who is facing mortal danger on a daily basis, and they have to deal with the almost total absence of their partner from the home sphere.
"The second sphere is that of the reservists' wives, whose contract with the state does not include military service on a daily basis, nor does it incorporate being placed in mortal danger, and all that this entails. The wives of the IDF reservists have found themselves in a new situation that requires a new approach. The state has begun to grasp the fact that while it is investing serious efforts to address the rights of the male IDF reservists – there is a whole group of women who have to take on an incredibly difficult and challenging workload behind the scenes, looking after the children and the home alone, and they are collapsing under the immense weight of this burden, paying not only personal and emotional prices, but also a heavy financial cost too: if they are self-employed then their business is clearly suffering if it is managing to function at all, and if they are salaried employees then it is not always certain that their employer will be sufficiently understanding and attentive to their needs after such a long period of time. There are plenty of women who have been fired in the middle of the war.
"In the history of war, this has generally been regarded as a transparent function that has not ever really been appreciated. I don't think that we have ever been in such a long war, which has placed such intensive, ongoing demands on the households in the home front, in tandem with such profound worry. I am aware that considerable efforts are currently underway to provide a response and to change the policy in relation to these women, as well as to grant recognition for their tremendous contribution, as without them their partners would simply not be able to serve."
Eran-Jona tells that she met the wives of the reservists and the career soldiers in a special session of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, convened by the committee head, MK Pnina Tamano-Shata. "I don't know Pnina, I didn't vote for her, and I don't even know her party affiliation, but I was very impressed by her work. She succeeded in effecting a change in both practice and policy in real time, in the middle of the war. When there is a determined woman with capabilities, she succeeds in gathering all the relevant players around her – the National Insurance Institute, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Defense – and grant the wives of those men serving in the IDF the recognition and support that they deserve. I don't think that his would have occurred had this position not been occupied by a woman.
"The allowances granted to IDF reservists include financial support for couples therapy or individual therapy for the wives of reservists, as well as for a family vacation. A special fund has also been established for the self-employed, to which the self-employed wives of serving reservists can submit claims."
Alongside the support from the military front, Eran-Jona adds that there are a good number of civil society organizations trying to provide support for the wives of those men who have been called up. She herself works as the Head of Diversity and Inclusion Office at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where a support fund was set up for the wives of serving reservists, both for providing care for children and for mental health needs too. "In addition to the fund which provides direct support, we also recognize the right of women students whose partners are on reserve duty to a large number of benefits, just like the reservists themselves. Many universities have done this, equating the conditions of the wives of IDF reservists with students on reserve service. This involves diverse forms of support and relief such as personal tutoring for lessons, replacing exams with written assignments, and so on."
During the war, we have heard the reports relating to the fact that warnings given by women in the army were not heard. I am also referring to the female lookouts serving on the Gaza border, who were ignored when they repeatedly provided warnings, as well as the female warrant officer in the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate who succeeded in putting together an accurate intelligence picture of Hamas' intentions, and again this was rejected by her superiors. Is there a connection between this lack of attention and the fact that those providing the alert were women?
"First of all – I must say with all due modesty that I am not familiar with the overall picture here, but I can say that this involves two separate stories. As far as the lookouts are concerned, this is an incident that needs to be investigated in depth. Without a doubt, there needs to be a significant change in the manner in which the knowhow emerging from the lower field ranks is integrated within the intelligence assessments. This lesson has exacted a heavy price and cost us many lives.
"According to all the indications, there was something that the women on the front line apparently managed to understand, but which those occupying positions far away from there simply failed to understand. The fact that what women have to say is treated less seriously is a phenomenon that I have observed throughout my military service, everywhere I went, in all the conference rooms where I sat. As a woman, your opinion is considered differently," she says, based on 20 years of service in the IDF as a sociologist in the IDF Behavioral Sciences Department and in the Research Division in the Military Intelligence Directorate.
"With regards to the female warrant officer who provided an intelligence warning, women are fully integrated in the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate in all positions, and they do outstanding work there. I was not surprised by the fact that if there was an analyst who succeeded in creating such a picture of the events, in presenting an alternative and challenging conventional thinking – that this was actually done by a woman. But I understand that there were also men who made this claim and who supported her claim, so I am not really sure that this particular case is one that should be examined via the prism of gender. What she said was not rejected because she is a woman but rather because there was a conception."
A male-dominated cabinet
"Women do excellent work and know how to challenge the system and to think out of the box, so that their absence around the decision-making table has a detrimental effect on national security. Actually, there are women in a vast variety of positions behind the scenes of the intelligence work in this war, including the most senior positions, and they occupy key positions in all the security organizations. On the other hand, women are absent from the decision making processes in the limited security cabinet, and also in the broader security cabinet, they are underrepresented. The current Knesset itself is one of the worst in terms of the underrepresentation of women. Unfortunately, neither are women represented as director generals of government ministries."
The few women who do sit on the cabinet are often met with derision and contempt – such as the Minister of Transport Miri Regev, who is depicted as having given out popcorn in the middle of a debate, or the Minister of Settlements and National Missions, Orit Struck, who has on many occasions dared to ask difficult questions. And there are more women in the coalition who undergo both physical and verbal attacks, such as MK May Golan and Minister of Environmental Protection, Idit SIlman.
"It is completely unjustified to scoff at women or attack them. It will always be easier to turn them into a figure of derision. On the other hand, some of them do help this by contributing to their own ridiculous image. But to jibe and attack the Chief of Staff during wartime? This is something that has never occurred in the past. I believe that if there were more women sitting at the decision-making table then the war would have been conducted in a much more skillful and expedient manner. It's not that women are better but that decision-making that takes place in a more diverse group of people is always better. This is something that is extremely lacking in the current government and only serves to add to my pessimism regarding the day after the war. Will women not be forced to struggle anymore for equality in the army? I believe that this struggle will continue and that unfortunately, it won't take that long for the achievements made now to be forgotten."
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