1World
In Combat
Female soldier cites her challenge in the Israeli army.
Yael Kidron
Courtesy BBC News
feminine.
Only when you go home, that's when
you can be a little more feminine, in your
own time.
What we end up doing, after all the
training, when it comes to an actual war,
we guard the borders and we make sure
nothing comes in.
decided to come and serve in a corn-
, bat unit because, for one thing, I grew
up with five brothers, and I needed to
do something physical. It's not just sitting
down and doing paperwork. I wanted to
do something more challenging, and this
is why I am here.
Women In IDF
It's a very, very, very cool experience, to
• The Karakal Battalion, which guards
shoot a gun — I love it!
Israel's borders with Egypt and Jordan, is
I came to serve in Karakal. It's a girls
70 percent female;
and guys unit. You basically do everything
• Women have served in combat roles in
like the guys; you work hard.
the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) since the
Our base is in the middle of the desert,
mid-1990s;
the middle of nowhere, kind of. We have
• During the 2006 Lebanon conflict,
very nice views here, sunset, sunrise.
women fired artillery, served on warships,
You've got a lot of wide-open space here
and piloted aircraft;
— and a lot of space where they can make
• All Israelis except Arabs and Ultra-
you run when you get pun-
ished.
We live in tents. The tents
Percentage Of Women In Armed Forces
are very sturdy although
honestly, to go from a nice
Israel
33%
58,245
cozy bed to a tent, living in
America
20%
294,780
these little beds ... but it's
Canada
13%
8,372
awesome, I love it. I think it's
United Kingdom
9.1%
17,900
a great experience.
Every day when I wake up
Source: IDF/NATO/USA/MoD
in the morning, I don't say,
"Oh, what am I going to wear
this morning?" It's the same
thing every single morning. It's
not a very nice color of cloth-
ing — kind of olive-greenish
pants and a shirt.
Hardcore Work
We actually name our weap-
ons. I named my gun Jack, Jack
Black. Why? Because it's black,
and I like the name.
It's an Israeli-made machine
gun; it's got nice, smooth
shooting. It's a very comfort-
able gun.
The gun is basically on you
every single day. Even when
you sleep, it has to be under
your head.
It's not a very feminine
weapon at allies actually more
manly than some of the other
weapons that they have, but
that's the whole point of being
in a combat unit — you're not
24
Orthodox Jews are conscripted;
• Women serve for about two years,
unless they volunteer for a combat unit,
then serve three, like men.
It's a very important job because, hon-
estly, you can't do without your support
group, and that is what we basically are for
the men.
I think the fact that Israel has girls in
combat units is a good idea. I think it is
only fair that they let us be part of the
actual physical, challenging jobs.
I told my dad that I wanted to go into
paratroopers like my brother and he
started laughing at me. He said, "You know
there's no girls in paratroopers." So that
was kind of a letdown.
Right now, women in combat units can
be snipers, combat doctors, officers ...
There are also women who go into the
pilot unit.
The rest of the world should also con-
sider having girls in the army because we
have a lot to offer.
I think it's vital for the army. It makes it
better. ❑
BBC news originally published this story on
Feb. 16.
Yael Kidron is a combat soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces' mixed-gender Karakal Battalion
based in the Negev desert. She argues that it is only fair to allow women to take on physically
challenging army roles.
About Yael
Who: Yael Kidron, 21
Education: Graduated Akiva
Hebrew Day School, Southfield;
Frankel Jewish Academy, West
Bloomfield. Two years of pre-medi-
cal School, Wayne State University,
Detroit.
Parents: Hadassa and Avi Kidron,
West Bloomfield; originally Ramat
Ha`Golan, Hispin Community
Village, Israel. In Israel, Hadassa
volunteered two years in National
Service, counseling mentally chal-
lenged children and people dying
of cancer. Avi served in IDF Navy,
taking part in 1973 Yom Kippur War
and 1982 Lebanon War.
Brothers: Gal, 27, Ziv, 26, Elyasaf,
22, (IDF paratrooper), Matanya,
18, (Bloomfield Hills Andover 12th-
grader), Eyal, 16 (Andover 10th-
grader).
Family: Only girl of six children
and third youngest. Fourth genera-
tion in family line to serve in IDF.
After two oldest brothers Gal and
Ziv joined IDF — Gal as a para-
trooper with the 50th Battalion,
Ziv as a communications and
technology engineer — and then
Safi, third oldest brother became
a paratrooper with the 101st
Battalion on Lebanon border, she
felt an obligation to her family,
Israel and herself to join up.
In Israel: Joined Garin Tzabar of
the Israeli Scouts together with
more then 100 young adults who
left North America to serve in IDF.
Sent to Kibbutz Lavi in the Galilee
along with another 20 young
adults. Decided she wanted to be
a combat soldier so joined Karakal
Battalion, which is mixed with men
and women.
Quotable: "Yael, as always, set a
goal for perfection in her training
so that she could be the best, and
so she reached that goal, and not
with ease," says her brother Eyal,
a 10th grader at Bloomfield Hills
Andover High School. "Recently,
the IDF media reporter asked Yael
if she wanted to be interviewed by
the BBC News as a 'combat girl. —
Future: The IDF has asked Yael to
go on to the IDF Academy to be an
officer and possibly lead others to
where she is now.