Policy Paper 143 | Women in the IDF and the Joint Service Orderiv Around the same time, the National Religious sector came to occupy a central place in the IDF, especially in elite units and as officers . Although the army does not provide precise figures regarding the number of religious soldiers in the various units, data released by the IDF Spokesperson and reported in the media indicate that the numbers are increasing . For example, about 40 percent of graduates of an infantry officers’ training course in 2016 belonged to the National Religious sector . The concurrence of these two processes inevitably led to a clash, because having women and men serve together poses challenges for soldiers who are strict about halachic requirements regarding modesty and separation of the sexes . The discussion of the issue became particularly stormy after the IDF replaced its Proper Integration Order with the “Joint Service Order” ( General Staff Order 33 . 0207 ) , intended to regulate the servic...
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