____________________________________________ 2 IICC Perspectives proven their abilities in the current war is increasing, and they have demonstrated professional skills and courage. Women are currently integrated into combat roles in the Border Defense Corps, armor, air defense, search and rescue units, Unit 669, "Oketz" ("Sting" canine operational unit), "Skylark" airborne artillery assistance, fields-artillery, Border Police, electronic warfare and Intelligence gathering and collection. The Iron Swords War honed women's ability as a fully equal sector. Several women have even joined as pilots and skippers, and for the first time, women are assigned to special units. In recent years, roles for women have been added amid a public debate within the IDF and in the political arena that reached the courts as well, with the help of civil society organizations such as the Dvora Forum and other groups working to strengthen and promote the status of women, including in the army. The prominent role of civil society organizations in the Iron Swords War may also lead to enhanced equality. On the other hand, the political strengthening of extreme religious parties challenges these processes because of their desire to religionize more elements of the Israeli experience. There is no doubt that the "Iron Swords" war sharpened the ability of women as a sector equal to the male one, and here are some examples of their heroism, as reported in the media: In the Zikim training base: On that Saturday morning, 90 recruits from the Home Front Command, who had just enlisted, were there. Their superiors immediately realized that a massive massacre might take place, given the lack of soldierly readiness of the new recruits. The instructors then sheltered them, fought unaided with an excess force of terrorists, protected the new recruits with their own bodies, and saved them. Seven of the commanders were killed, including three officers and NCOs: Adar Ben Simon, Eden Levy, and Or Moses. Their commanding officer, Lt. Yannai Kaminka, a young man, also fell in this battle. The all-women tanks of the "Caracal" Battalion of the Southern Brigade in the Border Defense Corps: Upon receiving the initial report of what was happening, they hurried on the road-wheels of their tanks in the direction of the Gaza Strip Envelope, already in the morning of October 7. They managed to halt the terrorists at the entrance to Kibbutz Holit, thereby saving several other communities. The "Caracal" battalion commander, a mixed gender unit, Lt. Col. Or Livni Ben Yehuda, led her fighters under fire to the occupied outpost "Sufa." As the senior officer in the field, she conducted the battle until the outpost was returned to Israeli control. Or, who was the first female cadet in the infantry officers' program, was decorated back in 2015. Both the army and A female field fighter (Source: IDF spokesperson)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=