IDF Graduates First Class of Ultra-Orthodox Combat Officers 

Religious accommodations included stringent kosher standards and scheduled time for prayer and religious study. 

By Shula Rosen 

The IDF graduated the first 15 ultra-Orthodox infantry officers from its Hasmonean Brigade in Jerusalem after an eight-month course that combined combat and command training with accommodations for a Haredi religious way of life.

The brigade’s first officers course concluded with a graduation ceremony on the roof of Yeshivat HaKotel. Some of the new officers entered the IDF through the Hasmonean Brigade and rose through its ranks, while others joined from different units after previously serving as squad commanders in the brigade.

“This is a historic and moving event. You are making history and breaking new ground with the completion of the first officers course of the Hasmonean Brigade. You are leaders who are realizing a great vision of the entire Jewish people. I see the Haredi community as an inseparable part of Israeli society,” the IDF chief of staff told the graduates.

The course followed IDF General Staff directives governing the integration of ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

Religious accommodations included stringent kosher standards, scheduled time for prayer and religious study, and an adapted gender environment.

Cadets received combat and command instruction, including navigation and fire-support training, before advancing to the “Gefen” corps training phase. That portion of the course included combat and command exercises in both open and built-up areas.

Training also included a live-fire series and the “Northern Arrow” exercise with cadets from the general “Gefen” track at the IDF Officers School at Bahad 1. Bahad 1 maintained full control over the course’s professional instruction and training content.

Alongside their training, the cadets took part in several operational activities in Lebanon and Judea and Samaria with other Hasmonean Brigade forces.

“You are already integrated into operational activity, and you will be able to be deployed for any mission, in defense and offense, including maneuver operations,” the chief of staff said.