Israel is one of only a few countries where military service is compulsory for many able-bodied female citizens. Under Israeli conscription laws, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) may draft recruits from three communities: the Jews, the Druze, and the Circassians. As the latter two communities are less populous, their women are not required to serve. Women from the Jewish majority are not exempted from the conscription laws, but serve for slightly shorter terms than male conscripts. All women who are exempted from the conscription laws may still enlist voluntarily. Jewish women who are called up for military service may apply for an exemption on humanitarian, religious, or certain legal grounds. Those who claim such an exemption will typically be redirected to Sherut Leumi, the alternative means of national service.
According to Israeli military statistics, 535 female soldiers had been killed while serving between the years of 1962 and 2016. The IDF's regulated integration of women is rooted in the days of the Yishuv, when Jewish women served in the ranks of various Zionist paramilitaries during the 1947–1949 Palestine War. In 1999–2000, an amendment was made to the Women's Equal Rights Law of Israel by which men and women became fully equalized — although separately — in the Israeli military apparatus.
Until 2001, female conscripts served in the Women's Corps, or (CHEN; ).CHEN: Women's Corps of the Israel Defense Forces Jewish Women's Archive After a five-week-long period in basic training, they could serve as clerks, drivers, welfare workers, nurses, radio operators, flight controllers, ordnance personnel, and course instructors. , around 88% of all IDF roles were open to female candidates. As of 2010, women were enlisted in 69% of all military positions available to them."Women of the IDF". IDF Spokesperson's Unit. Retrieved 22 January 2012."Statistics: Women’s Service in the IDF for 2010, 25 Aug 2010". Israel Defense Forces. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
Amidst the 2014 Gaza War, the IDF stated that fewer than 4% of their female soldiers were enlisted in combat positions, such as infantry and helicopter/fighter pilots, and that they were instead concentrated in a variety of "combat-support" positions.Gaza: It's a Man's War The Atlantic, 7 Aug 2014
During Hamas's October 7 surprise attack on Israel, women soldiers took a vital role in the defence operations fighting Hamas. For the first time in Israeli history, many women soldiers were abducted by Hamas to the Gaza Strip. Later, during the phase of the ground fighting in the Gaza Strip, female fighters and medical women entered the Gaza Strip as part of the operation.
History Pre-independence
Before the formal establishment of Israel in 1948, women served in combat roles within the Jewish paramilitary groups of British Palestine that would later become the central component of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF); the rate of women who were enlisted in combat organizations stood at 20 percent. In the years leading up to the establishment of the IDF, military service for women existed in the lines of the Hashomer and Haganah paramilitary forces. The Haganah stated in its law that its lines were open to "Every Jewish male or female, who is prepared and trained to fulfill the obligation of national defense." Most female recruits served as medics, communications specialists, and weaponeers. During World War II, among the 30,000 Jews from Palestine who joined the British Armed Forces were about 4,000 women who volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service and Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
During the 1940s in Tel Aviv, a battalion was established in which women filled positions in security, weapons transport, and manned anti-aircraft posts. During the winter of 1948, women joined the combat ranks of the Palmach and traveled from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with their weapons concealed inside their clothes. The Palmach arm (thirty percent of which were women) trained nine female platoon commanders, and numerous other female squad commanders.
Arab-Israeli War (1948)
On 26 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion officially set up the IDF as the military force of Israel. On 18 August 1948, mandatory conscription began for all childless Israeli women who were born between 1920 and 1930, regardless of whether they were single or married.
Women served in many positions, including as nurses, signal operators, drivers, clerks, and cooks. The Women's Corps, under which all female Israeli soldiers served, was responsible for taking care of their needs, training, and integration into different IDF units. The Women's Corps also sent young, qualified female soldiers to be teachers in Israel's then-developing areas and immigrant neighbourhoods.
Post-independence
Apart from the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, when extreme manpower shortages brought many female Israeli soldiers into land battles, women were historically prohibited by the Israeli government to go into battle, and instead served in a variety of technical and administrative support roles. Soon after the establishment of the IDF, a decree for the removal of women from frontline positions was brought into effect, and all female soldiers were accordingly pulled back into more secure areas. The cited rationale for this decision revolved around concerns over the high possibility of female Israeli soldiers being captured and subsequently raped or sexually assaulted by hostile Arab forces. While the consensus was that it was fair and equitable to demand equal sacrifice and service from women, it was argued that the risk of Israeli prisoners of war being subjected to sexual abuse was infinitely greater for female soldiers than it was for male soldiers, and therefore unacceptable. A majority of women serving in the IDF then took up positions as secretaries while the rest served primarily as instructors, nurses, clerks, and telephone operators. A few women flew transport missions in the 1950s; some women were accepted into flight training in the 1970s, but did not complete the program before it was closed to women. Yael Rom, the first female pilot trained by the Israeli Air Force, earned her wings in 1951. Hava Inbar, a lawyer, was appointed as the judge of the Israeli military court in Haifa in September 1969, thus becoming the first female military judge in the world. She stated in an interview: "I do not know if I want to be a military judge my whole life, but I am glad that I was appointed; it proves that the IDF leaves almost all doors open for its female soldiers."
Due to a rapidly growing need for ground forces during the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, women were needed in field roles. According to Rina Bar-Tal, then-chair of the Israel Women's Network, roles for women beyond technical and secretarial support only started to open up in the late 1970s and early 1980s due to manpower shortages. Since then, a few women have earned ranks higher than colonel. In 1986, Amira Dotan, then-head of the Women's Corps, became the first female brigadier-general. In July 2018, female IDF captain Or Naʽaman ordered a Patriot missile battery to shoot down a Syrian drone and fighter jet over the Golan Heights, which earned her a military certificate of appreciation.
Gender equality Civilian pilot and aeronautical engineer Alice Miller successfully petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to rule in favour of her taking pilot training exams with the Israeli Air Force (IAF) after she was rejected on gender grounds. During this time, former president and IAF commander Ezer Weizman openly opposed her campaign. Although Miller did not pass the examination, the ruling was a watershed and opened doors for Israeli women in new military roles. Female legislators took advantage of the momentum to draft a bill that allowed women to volunteer for any position they could qualify for.
In 2000, an amendment to the Women's Equal Rights Law of Israel with regards to military service states that "The right of women to serve in any role in the IDF is equal to the right of men." The amendment, drafted by female lawmakers, grants equal opportunities to women who are found to be physically and personally suitable for a job; the question of exactly who and what was "suitable" was left to the discretion of military leaders on a case-by-case basis. Following the amendment, a modest number of women began to enlist in combat support and light combat roles in a few areas, including the Artillery Corps, infantry units, and various armored divisions. By 2000, Caracal became a full-fledged mixed-sex infantry battalion. Many women also joined the Border Police.
The first female Israeli fighter pilot, Roni Zuckerman, received her wings in 2001. By 2006, the first female pilots and navigators graduated from the IAF training course and several hundred women entered combat units, primarily in support roles such as intelligence gatherers, instructors, social workers, medics, and engineers. The 2006 Lebanon War marked the first time since 1948 that female soldiers were active in field operations alongside male soldiers. Airborne helicopter engineer Keren Tendler was the first female Israeli combat soldier to be killed in an active warzone after the passing of the amendment. In November 2007, the IAF appointed its first female deputy squadron commander.
On 23 June 2011, Orna Barbivai became the first female aluf in the Israeli military upon her promotion to the role of commander of the Manpower Directorate; she was the second woman to serve on the General Staff. In 2012, Merav Buchris became the first female ammunitions officer in the IAF. In 2013, in a first, a female IDF soldier was called up to the Torah during a service on a military base. In the same year, the Israeli military announced that it would, for the first time in Israel's history, allow a transgender woman to serve in the army as a female soldier.
In 2014, there were several more firsts for women in the Israeli military: Oshrat Bacher was appointed as Israel's first female combat-battalion commander; the first female combat doctor was appointed to the elite Duvdevan Unit; and female kashrut supervisors were allowed to work in kitchens on military bases.
In 2026, Israeli Air Force officer G. was promoted to brigadier general and appointed Israeli air attaché in Washington. She is the first woman from the Israeli Air Force's aircrew to reach that rank. She was also the first woman to command an operational flight squadron and the first woman to command an Israeli Air Force base.
Service requirements The mandated military service requirement for Jewish-Israeli women is 24 months, apart from specified roles that instead require a service length of 30 months. Women may be exempted from military service for reasons of religious conscience, marriage, pregnancy, or motherhood. A woman may receive an exemption on religious grounds under the following conditions: She has declared that for reasons of conscience, or a religious way of life, she is prevented from doing military service and has proven this to the satisfaction of the exemption committee. She keeps the laws of Kashrut at home and outside. She does not travel on Shabbat. Women who arrive in Israel at age 17 and over are generally exempt from military service, but may serve on a voluntary basis. Additionally, women are generally not called up for reserve duty if they are married or if they are beyond the age of 24.
Combat roles