Reservist's wife: "80% are religious, why are there no separate hours at the pool?"

Against the backdrop of the long service of many reservists and the supportive mobilization of their families, the IDF expresses gratitude to the wives and children of soldiers and commanders, inviting them to activities and vacations. However, in a post published today by the organization 'Women for the Sanctity of the Camp', a disturbing picture emerges: despite the significant presence of religious people among the fighters and commanders, the army is not prepared to meet the needs for kashrut, modesty, and other values requested by the religious-Zionist public.

"Recently we were on a very well-invested and pampering vacation for commanders. There were endless activities for the whole family, and the kids were in heaven!", shared the wife of a reserve commander.

"But what's the catch? 80% of the families are religious Zionists. Despite this, there isn't even a minute of separate swimming in the pool (and there are water slides there that make the kids drool), the meat is not 'glatt' (even though in the IDF all meat is 'glatt'), and they went even further — lunch, slushies, and popsicles were distributed exclusively at the edge of the pool. In other words, anyone who doesn't want to wait in line behind half-naked people just has to fast."

"I found myself walking back and forth many times to bring food and drink to my sons and my husband so they wouldn't approach the complex."

"After the Shabbat meal, there was a show for children that involved desecration of Shabbat... They simply put the religious in an uncomfortable position, and it's unpleasant to say, but many religious people 'bend' the boundaries in a 'time of need'..."

The commander's wife shares:

"Maybe it's not acceptable to say what I'm saying, but it must be said: The IDF owes us nothing! We came to give, not to receive! But now that they decided to pamper, it cannot be that 3/4 of those present at the vacation are religious and there isn't even a separate hour at the pool, or attractions adapted for the religious. This voice must be heard. We are tired of being religious Zionist doormats who are only good as corpses! When I arrived at the hotel reception and asked: 'Are there separate hours at the pool?', they answered that there weren't. I said: 'And if I were disabled, you would provide accessibility, right?! So why is there no adaptation for a huge public?!'"

"What amazes me is that I started talking about it a little out loud, and many women came to me quietly on the side to tell me 'well done' for the courage to speak, but they are all afraid of their own shadows. They are afraid that if they say something or ask, they will be told that we are not the 'sweet national religious' public of the IDF."

"My conclusion is that the diseases in the system sit on public consciousness and a mentality of slavery," concludes the reserve commander's wife. "Maybe this mentality also accumulates anger at the Haredi public that doesn't have this mentality of slavery, and that's how it breaks out. Either way, we should free ourselves from this, and I am sure that this is what will bring a lot of correction within the army, so that we have an army with a positive attitude towards Judaism and observant Jews."