Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
In Israel, women have already served in combat positions in the Israeli Defence forces for 20 years. Women make up 33 percent of the military, and just last year they appointed Brig. Gen. Orna Barbivai as the first-ever female major general.
After two decades of side-by-side training and fighting, Israeli women are facing very different concerns than their American counterparts.
As soldiers in the IDF become more religious, and more orthodox, physical contact required by training has caused controversy within the corps, in some cases, preventing women from advancing up through the ranks. Plus, more women are coming under pressure from orthodox rabbis to choose national service in schools and hospitals over army service.
Joining the show is
, executive director of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, who wrote about this for Slate.