Women in the IDF: Combat Roles and Leadership
How Israeli law and IDF policy expanded women's opportunities in combat, aviation, command, and religious service.
Category pages
- From Alice Miller to Women in the IAFIn 1995, the High Court rejected the IDF's blanket exclusion of women from pilot training. A 2000 law later gave women an equal right to fill military roles, subject to the nature of each role.
- Women in IDF Combat: Roles and DevelopmentWomen served in pre-state defense forces and the IDF from its founding, but combat opportunities expanded in stages. Today women serve in border infantry, field intelligence, search and rescue, canine teams, armor, and selected elite-unit programs.
- Caracal, Border Defense, and Women Tank CrewsCaracal is a mixed-gender IDF infantry battalion created for border defense. Its all-women tank company, normally assigned to the Egyptian border, deployed against Hamas attackers in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
- Women Leading IDF Combat and Technology UnitsWomen have commanded combat and technology organizations at several levels. Reut Rettig-Weiss became the IDF's first female brigade commander in 2022, while senior officers have also held key appointments in cyber, intelligence, and General Staff functions.
- Religious Women Serving in IDF Combat RolesReligious Zionist women can volunteer for IDF combat service through standard units or programs designed around religious needs. A combat-intelligence platoon launched in November 2024 added an all-female framework with a female spiritual adviser.