Concerns this past International Women’s Day for Israel’s women hostages in Gaza and honouring women soldiers in the IDF.
By Dena Pantanowitz
As a South African on International Women’s Day, I recognised and celebrated the heroic role of women soldiers in the IDF who dedicate themselves to defending their home while promoting and yearning for peace.
The role of women soldiers in the IDF illustrates the superlative strides Israel has made towards gender equality in the armed forces. These brave women serving on the front lines from flying a fighter jet or rescue helicopter to manning a tank, demonstrate unwavering courage and commitment to safeguarding Israel’s security and protecting its citizens. Their dedication and sacrifice exemplify the strength and resilience of women in the face of terrible adversity.
Following some 3,000 terrorists from Gaza bursting through Israel’s border on October 7 to rampage murderously through southern regions, women IDF soldiers were soon in the thick of the action, including an all-female tank unit that fought for hours, killing dozens of attackers along the border and in communities attacked by Hamas.
When this group of young combat women were woken at 6:30 a.m. on October 7, they had no idea they would be making history. Part of a company of all-women tank operators – only made permanent in 2022 following a two-year pilot programme – they were about to experience real action. Thundering along country roads to get to the communities under attack, they soon came under massive assault and responded by running down terrorists, and securing breaches on the border with the Gaza Strip.
Informed that there were attackers in all the trees around, “We started firing bunker busters at the terrorists that were up close, and then mortar shells at those further away,” Michal, an officer in the unit, told Channel 12.
“I could see the hits, I saw [the terrorists] fall down,” she added. These women had to improvise. Another commander, Hila, explained that none of them had been trained on the weapons system installed on the armored Humvee but “Within 10 minutes, we’d all become experts: how to run it, how to fire, how to slam the brakes.”
“We approached the border and saw burned bodies of terrorists in the trees. We were still firing as we went through to make sure we got everyone.”
At the end of the day, female soldiers were also among those killed by Hamas and among those taken hostage alongside their male counterparts.
And then there are the women that were taken off into captivity like the spoils of war. These women endure unimaginable suffering, subjected to captivity, sexual abuse, and exploitation. Their basic human rights are being violated, and their voices silenced under the oppressive regime of Hamas. Our hostages are not part of history, they are our present, and they need our voice!
I have just returned from a mission to Israel and have seen with my own eyes the absolute devastation since 7 October. This was a systematic massacre by Hamas on our people, innocent woman, children, men and the elderly were slaughtered. We cannot sit back and be quiet.
On International Women’s Day, we stood in solidarity with the courageous women soldiers of the IDF and advocated for the release of all hostages, especially the 19 women and children held captive in Gaza. It is incumbent upon the international community to condemn such violations of human and women’s rights and work towards ensuring the safe return of these women to their families and loved ones.
As we celebrated the achievements and contributions of women worldwide, we remembered those who continue to suffer in silence. We must amplify their voices and demand justice and freedom for all women, regardless of their circumstances or background.
As a Jewish woman, I will be a voice for all our woman that cannot use their voices right now; we cannot let their silent cries be unheard.
Let us be their voice not only today but every day.
About the writer
A “proud Jewish wife and mom” from South Africa, Dena Pantanowitz, participated in February’s community leadership’s solidarity mission to Israel.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).