A young woman from a Haredi family nearly quit combat training after struggling to balance the demands of military service with her religious upbringing. During leave, she consulted Rabbanit Hila Naor, who helps guide religious female soldiers. "After that conversation, something changed," Naor recalled. The woman chose to stay, completed her training and graduated with her parents present.
Such stories have become increasingly common for Naor, director of Ma'aminot BeMadim, an Ohr Torah Stone initiative providing religious guidance to female soldiers. Over the past two years, a growing number of religious young women have entered military service, including combat roles once considered nearly unthinkable in Israel's Religious Zionist community.
Beginning in November, the Israeli Air Force will launch its first dedicated all-female combat unit for religious women, developed with Ma'aminot BeMadim. Recruits will undergo advanced combat training while serving under female commanders and receiving religious guidance to balance military demands with Orthodox observance.
The shift reflects a changing perspective among religious youth. "The young religious women choosing combat roles speak much more about getting under the stretcher and sharing the burden," Naor said. "They feel that now it's their turn, that they need to be there, that this is the right thing to do."
Rabbi Ohad Teharlev, founder of Ma'aminot BeMadim, said religious women had been inquiring about military service for years before the war. After October 7, as manpower shortages intensified and more religious women sought combat roles, the organization worked with the IDF to create appropriate frameworks. Originally projecting around 1,000 religious women might eventually enter such roles, approximately 800 graduates of Israel's state religious schools are expected to enter combat positions this year - roughly double the previous year.
The real challenge emerges after enlistment. Many religious female soldiers serve in integrated units where commanders lack understanding of religious sensitivities. Naor described the most difficult conversations as personal, involving family reactions and community acceptance rather than religious law. "They're dealing with the physical and mental demands of combat training," She said. "Then they go home and have to face the reactions of their families and communities as well."
Support systems now include regular visits from female spiritual mentors and ongoing contact throughout service. "The framework has to be stable and reliable," Naor said. "It gives them confidence that their religious identity has a respected and secure place within military life."
While some rabbis continue opposing combat service for religious women, Teharlev argues educators must respond to evolving community reality. "Many young women are voting with their feet," He said. "Reality is changing on the ground, and it requires thoughtful engagement."