Prominent dati leumi tzibur posek Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed has ruled an officer may not assume command of a mixed unit in the IDF; a unit with men and women.

The rav earlier spoke of how difficult these units are for religious soldiers and how the integration of women into male units only serves to weaken the military, not strengthen it.

Arutz-7 quotes a response from Rabbi Melamed to ‘Y’, who asked if one may become commander of a mixed-gender unit. The rav explains that serving in a mixed unit is worse than eating chazir or neveila and commanding such a unit is “twice as severe”.

Rav Melamed explains that one must refuse assuming such a command even at the expense of one’s career and even if one must resign from the IDF.

In his letter to the soldier, the rav concludes that maintain modest in the military is what will protect Israel and Eretz Yisrael.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)