Israeli lawsuit says women should be allowed to serve in tanks

Two women who successfully completed an Israeli military tank course have filed a lawsuit demanding they be allowed to serve in the tank corps.

In a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court, Osnat Levy and Noga Shina say the army’s refusal to let them serve as tank drivers is a violation of equal rights.

The women are graduates part of a program launched in 2017 to train all-female tank crews for routine security operations. But the all-women tank crews never were implemented, and the plan has been put on hold for budgetary reasons and staffing shortages, the Israel Defence Forces has said.

A similar petition was filed by two other women in September.

Afik Shema, one of Levy and Shina’s training officers, joined their petition.