Rabbinate Proposes Mechitza In Tanks To Facilitate Mixed-Sex Crews

The same kind of divider has facilitated the presence of both males and females in the same prayer space while maintaining dignified separation.

Tel Aviv, November 21 – Amid resurgent controversy over the integration of women into military combat roles, the army’s Chief Rabbinate suggested today that the armored corps install partitions inside the vehicles to separate the male and female soldiers, much as men and women both attend services in the synagogue but occupy separate spaces.

In a position paper issued this morning, the Rabbinate sought to find a middle ground between traditional opposition to mingling of the sexes and progressive attitudes that seek equal opportunities for both. The paper argues that the concerns behind the opposition to integration can be addressed by the use of a mechitza inside armored vehicles, the same kind of divider that has facilitated the presence of both males and females in the same prayer space while maintaining dignified separation and assisting both male and female worshipers in focusing on the task at hand without the distractions inherent in interaction with the opposite sex.

“The concern might be the moral or spiritual problem of placing males and females close together in highly charged situations, which can lead to all sorts of improper behavior,” noted the Rabbinate. “But the use of a mechitza reduces the contact between the sexes, and thus lowers the risk of such unhappy occurrences.”

“Alternatively,” the paper observed, “the concern stems from any adverse effect the male-female dynamic may have on the cohesion of the crew and their combat effectiveness, irrespective of religion. While this Rabbinate does not assume expertise or authority regarding combat effectiveness, our consultations in this regard indicate that the use of a mechitza inside a tank can also help mitigate these problems.”

The paper authors acknowledge structural differences among various types of armored vehicles, and that no single shape or size mechitza will adequately serve every tank. Nevertheless, they argue, adaptation of the structure to many different vehicles is easily accomplished, and even points to a solution that can help smooth male-female integration in other kinds of units.

“If properly implemented, the mechitza can play a similar role in infantry units, where armored personnel carriers or transport trucks can be easily and quickly modified to have such a partition,” contended the article. “In this manner, perhaps, more of society in general, let alone the IDF, can be served by the installation of a mechitza in a wide variety of facilities and venues.”

Sidewalks, the Knesset, public transportation, courtrooms, and shopping malls are several of the possible other venues the IDF Rabbinate paper suggests as benefiting from the installation of male-female partitions.

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