Jul 18, 2016

Words that the newly promoted chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Col. Eyal Karim, spoke in the past have caused an uproar in Israel. Interpreting Jewish law in a certain way, Karim permitted IDF soldiers to rape gentile women during wartime, called gays “maimed human beings” and stated that women are sentimental creatures who need to be “in their husbands' possession.” The rabbi also opposed the drafting of women into the IDF and to women singing in front of men in the IDF, according to the rabbinical principle of “a woman’s voice is sexually enticing.”

Supporters of Karim explain that these statements are not the rabbi’s opinions, but are interpretations he gave to texts of Jewish law that have no connection to contemporary life. They say that he is in favor of women serving in the IDF, is against rape in any shape or form, and has attended dozens of events and ceremonies over the years in which women sang — and did not feel it necessary to leave the room. An officer who has spoken with Karim in the past told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “When I put on my uniform, the uniform determines my actions.” Thus, he made it clear that in the case of a contradiction between Jewish law and the army's order, anyone wearing an IDF uniform is obliged to obey his commanders.

While this storm was starting to settle down, Rabbi Yigal Levenstein, the founder of the Zionist-Orthodox army preparatory academy in the settlement of Eli, spoke even more harshly. Levenstein said that gays are “perverts.” He added that this group is trying to force its presence in the army with all its might and that these deviants even deliver lectures in the IDF officers' school. He said that the phenomenon of placing extreme importance on not endangering innocent Palestinian bystanders during battle — even at the cost of endangering the soldiers — is spreading like wildfire, putting the soldiers at risk. In addition, he said that the Jewish Reform movement is a branch of Christianity, and that lots of branches started in Judaism before moving on to other religions or movements.

The Zion and Jerusalem Conference at which Levenstein spoke was dedicated to “the infiltration of Reform Jewry into the State of Israel.” The issues discussed at the conference reflect the growing exacerbation of the culture war waged in Israel almost since its very inception in 1948: the war between liberals and conservatives; the secular and the religious; and pragmatic Israelis and messianic Israelis.

The statements made by the two rabbis are not the opinions of extremists from marginal societal groups. Karim and Levenstein are very central rabbis within the Orthodox Zionism (also called National Religious) movement, which over the last decade has been paving its way to higher Israeli echelons in every sphere of life, and mainly in the IDF. The army preparatory program in Eli, founded by Levenstein, prepares religious Zionist youths for their army service; the school's founders even won the 2016 Israel Prize. The percentage of graduates from Orthodox Zionist institutions who serve in the IDF has been growing over the years: more than 50% of the attendees belonged to the Orthodox Zionism movement in many of the officers’ training courses