Against the background of the major damage being caused to the motivation to serve in the IDF over the country’s judicial overhaul conflict, some young women remain full of motivation to serve in elite combat units.

In interviews on Wednesday, minutes after they finished a simulation for elite unit tryouts and were still full of sand, mud, and sweat, Topaz Dayagi, 19, and Li Hochman, 18, both from Even Yehuda, described their exhilaration at competing with men at high levels, as well as how they are coping with the current debate about IDF service.
Dayagi said that “before this [simulation], I always worried about the physical and mental difficulties [of elite unit tryouts]. The ‘five fingers’ preparatory organization’s training helped. They worked us hard on simulations so we would finish on a high.
“I have a high level of satisfaction after doing this. I had to wake up at 5 a.m. to get here on time. There is no other fulfillment like this. To focus on the goal and make sacrifices for it with a lot of our free time feels great and builds character,” she said.
Dayagi added she felt fulfilled, and finished the multi-hour simulation “with a smile.”

Early preparations

The two explained that some of them already started preparatory activities as early as seventh to ninth grade. Others spent time in their later high school years, once or twice a week, working on different kinds of physical conditioning projects to be able to meet the IDF’s standards, while some spent a full year after 12th grade preparing.

Still, others did a crash course of only a few weeks leading into the simulation day. These forums gave young women opportunities to compete against each other and to get to know one another better.
Hochman said she felt “very emotional and a ton of pressure right before the drills. It was hard to get to sleep last night. Will I do my best? And it was very, very hard to wake up so early in the morning. The race-crawling in the sand is hard and mentally challenging.
“But these are the most satisfying kind of feelings,” she said. “We did more in one morning than many people do in a day. We can really help with our military service. We have a lot of pride. We competed with a group of very large men. This could deter lots of women and cause some anxiety, but if you understand you can do it all and you act with professionalism, then there is nothing you cannot achieve.”
Dayagi added: “We should give women their place, that they can do these things along with the men to reach a high level. Whoever is first in a race, gets first,” it doesn’t matter whether it is a man or a woman.
Hochman noted that “the whole week we work on conditioning in a mixed group, which is exceptional to have, and has significant benefits. We do running, swimming, crawling in the sand, and running carrying heavy weights for drills, which can make it easy to get tripped up. You need almost super strength.”
They explained that in some forums, men and women trained together, while in others, the training was separate.Hochman said there was “one episode I remember” where she passed a man in a race. “We were doing the hike with heavy bags. I felt I could do it despite the difficulties. I could push forward even when the men felt it was hard. I could surge past a man, something which neither of us was expecting to see. The only ceiling is our imagination, so I always know I can do a lot more.”
Asked what is next for them, Dayagi said, “In one week, in August, I will attend the tryouts for Oketz, which is combat, including using dogs.”

Hochman responded, “I also plan to do Oketz, but in a year, after doing the IDF preparatory-year program. My coach from Five Fingers was a company commander in Oketz. The sky’s the limit. Everything new is challenging. But this is a chance to be a positive influence and example.”

“Being a female combat soldier is an honorable form of service, and did not always exist as an option. It doesn’t matter what your political views are – everyone believes in keeping the country safe from its enemies. We all love the country and we need to protect it,”Topaz Dayagi, 19

The defense echelon has been unstable and divided of late thanks to the coalition’s passing of the first law in its judicial overhaul campaign. Many pilots and intelligence officers in the reserves have threatened they would not volunteer for service, bringing the precariousness of the nation’s security to a new level.

“We are citizens,” Dayagi said. “I already voted in an election. It is inseparable from life, so we are a part of it. The IDF is also an inseparable part of our lives. Our grandfathers served and now it is our turn.
“Being a female combat soldier is an honorable form of service, and did not always exist as an option. It doesn’t matter what your political views are – everyone believes in keeping the country safe from its enemies. We all love the country and we need to protect it,” she said.
With an eye to the future, Dayagi said, “This is not something we can take for granted. This is a big deal for me, to be taking action and not just looking on from the side. We give up some things for the cause of women becoming combat soldiers.”
Five Fingers founder Amir Menachem said that the “integration of young women into the simulation days for elite units is a necessary goal. We cannot ignore what is happening within Israeli society,” but both sides must remain respectful. So far, he has not seen “a drop in the motivation of men or women to be drafted.”
Asked if they thought women would eventually break into the most elite units, like the Navy’s Shayetet 13 (SEALs), Hochman said that Israel is still young. “Anything is possible. Women have joined the US Marines. There are things where men are better and there are things where women contribute more. I hope that whoever is in charge keeps an open mind” for what is possible for women in the IDF.
Dayagi added that “the IDF is always learning. The elite Combat Search and Rescue Unit 669 opened up to women two years ago. It is a work in progress.”