The Israeli Air Force’s first dedicated combat unit for religious women reflects a growing shift within Religious Zionism as new military frameworks seek to reconcile faith with frontline service.
A few weeks into her combat training, a young woman from a Haredi family reached a breaking point.
Determined to serve in a combat role, she had struggled almost from the moment she enlisted. The demands of training were immense, but the greater challenge was reconciling the world she had grown up in with the one she had chosen to enter. At one stage, the Israel Defense Forces considered removing her from the program.
During a period of leave, encouraged by her father, she turned to Rabbanit Hila Naor for advice. Should she continue in combat or transfer to a less demanding role that might make it easier to maintain her religious lifestyle?
“After that conversation, something changed,” Naor recalled.