Thirteen more hesder yeshivot, which blend Torah learning with military service, announced on Thursday their decision to prohibit Orthodox religious-Zionist male students from enlisting in the tank corps. This brings the total to 25 institutions protesting the IDF's trial effort to include women in armored units.

The IDF describes the effort as a limited pilot whose long-term status remains undecided, with no guarantee of permanent female integration into the corps.

The trial focuses on creating separate all-female tank formations, meaning neither secular nor religious men would share tanks or units with women, addressing the core objection raised by the protesting religious-Zionist groups.

From the yeshivot perspective, joint service in the same tank or unit violates modesty standards and risks inappropriate contact in the tight, isolated setting of armored vehicles.

Historically, hesder graduates have served exclusively in male units, often those dominated by other hesder students or men from similar Orthodox backgrounds.

The IDF values the hesder arrangement because its participants, despite shorter active duty periods interrupted by Torah study, consistently fill combat positions and frequently advance to mid- and senior officer ranks.

IDF advances female combat integration

The military received a High Court directive on April 13 requiring it to expand equal access for women to combat positions, including launching the delayed tank corps pilot by the November 2026 draft cycle.

With ongoing shortfalls from failed haredi recruitment and losses of up to 25,000 personnel since October 7, 2023, the IDF has intensified efforts to place women in combat roles to address manpower shortages.

Recent milestones include one woman joining the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, plus women assuming brigade and battalion command posts and even leading a missile boat.

Although the IDF issued a Wednesday statement outlining protections for hesder students to avoid mixed tank service, the number of boycotting institutions nearly doubled by Thursday.

Nevertheless, two-thirds of hesder yeshivot have not yet withdrawn participation.

Some await results from the pilot and confirmation that the IDF will keep women in distinct units, unlike the mixed-gender setups already present in artillery and infantry formations.