Israel women in combat

Israel Air Force introduces all-women Arad special commando unit

The “Arad” unit is the air force’s new intervention force, created due to lessons learned from the October 7 massacre and Operation Iron Swords.

|ByAVI ASHKENAZI
Female IDF combat soldiers.
Omer Steinmetz Haskel

Israel needs a mother

It’s time for women to take the wheel

|ByOMER STEINMETZ HASKEL
Female combat paramedic soldiers stationed at their army base in Be’eri, just a few kilometers from the Gaza border.

'Bravery never belonged to one gender': Israel's female combat legacy preserved in Ashkelon

As female combat soldiers take center stage in Israel’s current war, a historic site preserves the stories of women who have defended the state

|ByTANIA SHALOM MICHAELIAN
Swell Ariel Or, one of the stars of the upcoming movie ‘Tankistas,’ in the 2023 film ‘Kissufim.’

From harlots to heroines: October 7 opens new chapter for women soldiers in Israeli cinema

Stories of women on the frontline on October 7 are opening a new chapter on female soldiers in Israeli cinema.

|ByHANNAH BROWN

Eisenkot: Women will not serve in Golani or Paratroopers under my watch

IDF Chief of Staff says there is a limit to integrating women into army's frontline units.

FEBRUARY 5, 2018ByANNA AHRONHEIM
Female soldier, Lotem Stapleton, a physical education officer, demonstrates a move during a training session in Krav Maga, an Israeli self-defense technique, at a military base in the Golan Heights March 1, 2017.

Israel Air Force appoints first woman to lead aviation squadron

Another woman appointed to lead operational command and control unit.

JANUARY 17, 2018ByANNA AHRONHEIM
Israel Air Force planes fly over Tel Aviv.

Israeli Air Force encourages more women to join pilots course

“A plane doesn’t care if it’s a woman or a man flying it. The Air Force wants the best of the best."

DECEMBER 20, 2017ByANNA AHRONHEIM
A female air force pilot at the Hatzor base

First female IAF pilot appointed deputy commander in combat squadron

Captain Y lost her grandfather, also an IAF pilot, during the Yom Kippur War.

NOVEMBER 6, 2017ByANNA AHRONHEIM
A female air force pilot at the Hatzor base

IDF commander suspended for illicit relationship with subordinate

Lt.-Col. Elad Cohen was due to finish position in coming weeks regardless of investigation.

JULY 11, 2017ByANNA AHRONHEIM
IDF Caracal soldier

Female Bnei Akiva members reject director’s views that religious women should not enlist

Director: This is not the proper or successful way to contribute to the State of Israel.

DECEMBER 26, 2016ByJEREMY SHARON
A religious woman and a female soldier pray at the Western Wall.

IDF stands by decision to examine possibility of co-ed tank units

Several former generals and chief rabbis come out against proposal, calling army "complacent" and idea "dangerous."

NOVEMBER 22, 2016ByANNA AHRONHEIM
IDF soldiers stand atop a tank near the border with Gaza. [File]

Gaza-bound female flotilla meets Israel's female combat soldiers

In Israel, seeing a female combat soldier is not all that unusual, women are eligible for 92% of the IDF's jobs.

OCTOBER 6, 2016ByLAURA SIGAL
Palestinians ride a boat as they take part in a rally to show solidarity with Gaza-bound flotilla October 5, 2016.

International Women's Day: Founder of ICRC discusses her role in saving ME Christians

Juliana Taimoorazy was smuggled out of Iran in 1989, now mentors young women who, like herself, arrived in the US to avoid religious persecution.

MARCH 6, 2016ByFELICE FRIEDSON/THE MEDIA LINE
Downtown Erbil with the Assyrian fortress in the background.

A Lion’s Pride: An inside look at coed IDF combat unit preparing for battle

As Israel faces terror in the West Bank, a new coed group of combat soldiers finish training for their unique role in the Jordan Valley.

DECEMBER 12, 2015BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
The IDF's new coed combat units are the result of a long struggle for the integration of women into fighting roles in the army