Smotrich defends ‘Israeli’ soldiers jailed for refusing to serve with female paramedic

Far-right ‘Israeli’ Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday defended 16 Givati Brigade soldiers sentenced to military prison after they refused to board an armored personnel carrier with a female paramedic, leading to the cancellation of a mission in the Gaza Strip.

The soldiers, from the Rotem Battalion and many of them Hesder yeshiva students, refused last week to enter a Namer armored vehicle during a planned operational activity because a female paramedic was assigned to the force.

The mission was subsequently canceled.

On Sunday, the battalion commander sentenced five troops identified as leaders of the refusal to 10 days in military jail; two of them will also face a committee before any return to combat roles.

Eleven others received five-day sentences.

The ‘Israeli’ military has said that under its Joint Service Order, religiously observant soldiers are generally entitled to gender-segregated operational frameworks, except in exceptional cases.

The military viewed this instance as operationally necessary; the brigade rabbi reportedly approved proceeding with the female paramedic present.

The Rotem Battalion is not an ultra-Orthodox unit, so mixed service can be required under standard protocols.

In a statement posted on X, Smotrich declared: “I support the Givati soldiers who insisted on their right and duty to serve in the IDF while preserving their values and faith and while adhering to the Joint Service Order.”

He added that the soldiers “have the full backing of the rabbis and directors of the Hesder Yeshivot Association, who examined the issue thoroughly and with the appropriate caution and stand behind the decision.”

Smotrich, a leader of the Religious Zionism party, said he had hoped the military would reverse course without his involvement.

“I prayed and hoped with all my heart that the IDF would come to its senses and prevent the need for my intervention, but since that did not happen, as the leader of Religious Zionism, I cannot sit idly by, and I will demand answers from the IDF on the matter.”

He warned that prosecuting the soldiers “will only cause damage and undermine the public’s trust in the IDF.”

Yeshiva heads whose students serve in the unit had instructed them not to board combat vehicles with a female medic present, according to reports.

The episode is the latest flashpoint in ongoing tensions over religious accommodations, mixed-gender service, and the integration of observant soldiers in the ‘Israeli’ military.