page_title: Women in the Israel Defense Forces
section_title: Gender equality
hierarchical_section_title: Women in the Israel Defense Forces / Gender equality
caption_attribution_description: The first Ethiopian ordnance officer in Israeli history is shown here right after finishing her officer's course ceremony at the ordnance school.
context_page_description: The women in the Israel Defense Forces are female soldiers who serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Israel is one of only a few countries in the world with a mandatory military service requirement for women.
  According to the IDF, 535 female Israeli soldiers had been killed in combat operations between the period 1962-2016. Women have taken part in Israel’s military before and since the founding of the state in 1948, fulfilling various roles within the Ground, Naval and Air Forces. The 2000 Equality amendment to the Military Service law states that "The right of women to serve in any role in the IDF is equal to the right of men."
  Up until 2001, women conscripts served in the Women's Corps, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym, CHEN. After a five-week period of basic training they served as clerks, drivers, welfare workers, nurses, radio operators, flight controllers, ordnance personnel, and course instructors. As of 2011, 88% of all roles in the IDF are open to female candidates, while women can be found in 69% of all positions.
  In 2014, the IDF said that fewer than 4 percent of women are in combat positions such as infantry, tank crews, artillery guns service, fighter pilots, etc.
context_section_description: Civilian pilot and aeronautical engineer Alice Miller successfully petitioned the High Court of Justice to take the Israeli Air Force pilot training exams, after being rejected on grounds of gender. Though president Ezer Weizman, a former IAF commander, told Miller that she'd be better off staying home and darning socks, the court eventually ruled in 1996 that the 
  IAF could not exclude qualified women from pilot training. Even though Miller would not pass the exams, the ruling was a watershed, opening doors for women in new IDF roles. Female legislators took advantage of the momentum to draft a bill allowing women to volunteer for any position, if they could qualify.
  In 2000, the Equality amendment to the Military Service law stated that "The right of women to serve in any role in the IDF is equal to the right of men." The amendment that female lawmakers had drafted granted equal opportunities to women found physically and personally suitable for a job.  The question of who and what was "suitable"  was left to the discretion of military leaders on a case-by-case basis. Women did start to enter combat support and light combat roles in a few areas, including the Artillery Corps, infantry units and armored divisions. A few platoons named Carakal were formed for men and women to serve together in light infantry. By 2000 Carakal became a full-fledged battalion. Many women would also join the Border Police.
  The first female jet 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, like intelligence gatherers, instructors, social workers, medics and engineers.  When the Second Lebanon War broke out, it was the first time since 1948 that women were in field operations alongside men. Airborne helicopter engineer Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Keren Tendler was the first female IDF combat soldier to be killed in action.
  In November 2007 the Air Force appointed its first woman deputy squadron commander.
  On 23 June 2011, Orna Barbivai became the first female Major-General in the IDF upon her promotion to the role of commander of the Manpower Directorate. She is the second woman to serve on the General Staff.  In 2012, Capitan Merav Buchris became the first female ammunition Officer in the Air force, she started her military career as a Shoher at the Technical Academy in Haifa.  In 2013, in a first, a female IDF soldier was called up to the Torah during a service on a military base.  Also in 2013, the IDF announced they would, for the first time, allow a (MTF) transgender woman to serve in the army as a female soldier.
  In 2014, there were several more firsts for women in the IDF. The IDF appointed Major Oshrat Bacher as Israel's first female combat battalion commander; Dr. Shani became the first female combat doctor in an elite counterterror unit in the IDF (specifically, the Duvdevan counterterrorism unit); and the IDF decided to allow female kosher supervisors to work in its kitchens on military bases.
caption: First IDF ordnance officer of Ethiopian Jewish origin
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