openpolitics.com

Israel Grapples With Military’s Plan to Open Combat Roles to Women

Many Israeli women see combat roles as a springboard to the top echelons of the military, politics and the corporate world. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many other senior politicians have fought in special forces units.

“It’s prestigious in Israel to be in a fighting unit,” said Pnina Sharvit Baruch, a senior research associate at Institute for National Security Studies and former colonel in the military’s law department. “It opens up opportunities and women want to be part of that.”