Israel's highest-ranking female brigadier general

Cases spotlight harassment in Israeli military
ISSUE A CHRONIC PROBLEM IN COUNTRY THAT DRAFTS WOMEN IN THEIR TEENS
BY GREG MYRE
Associated Press

JERUSALEM -- During a 25-year army career, Hedva Almoge was promoted to brigadier general, Israel's highest-ranking woman ever.

``I love the army,'' says Almoge, 52, who's still a reservist.

But since 1999, she has successfully sued the military on behalf of female soldiers alleging ***ual harassment, winning cases against three male officers, including another brigadier general.

In a country that drafts women as teenagers, ***ual harassment is a chronic problem. The issue was headline news in late March, when former Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai was convicted of ***ually assaulting two women, including a young soldier.

``This sort of thing happens all the time in the army, so I'm really pleased Mordechai has been punished,'' said Noga Bar-On, an 18-year-old dressed in her olive-green uniform as she waited for a bus in Jerusalem. ``Maybe this will encourage others to come forward with their complaints.''

The army's macho culture, combined with the presence of many young women subordinate to male commanders, creates a system with the potential for abuse, and the army hierarchy paid little attention to the problem for many years, women say.

Israeli women are particularly sensitive to the issue since many are required to serve nearly two years upon graduation from high school. Men serve three. Female soldiers often are assigned mundane tasks and clerical jobs, though some combat units have opened to them in recent years.

The army says it is dealing with the harassment problem.

Commanders get ``***ual-harassment prevention kits,'' which include a 15-minute video, slides and printed material outlining legal issues. They deliver lectures to troops twice a year.

Last year, female soldiers filed 250 ***ual-harassment complaints.

Almoge, now president of Naamat, Israel's leading women's rights organization, brought her first lawsuit two years ago after the army ignored a letter she wrote urging that a brigadier general not be promoted because of his alleged ***ual misconduct with a female soldier.

Brig. Gen. Nir Galili lost the case and resigned from the army. Since then, Almoge's group has won two similar cases and has two more pending.

The army also is beginning to take the initiative, she said, noting that more than 20 officers were dismissed last year because of ***ual harassment.

``The army has made important steps, but they still have much to learn,'' she said.

In 1987, when Almoge was named head of the army's Women's Corps, she launched the military's first formal course on ***ual harassment. The senior male officers were indifferent, she said.

``Then I asked, `How many of you have daughters in the army?' '' she said. ``This seemed to be the only way they were able to relate to the issue at the time.''

The male officers often told Almoge they saw themselves as father figures to the female soldiers.

``We just want to give them a hug and a kiss,'' she quoted them as saying.

``This is the army, you can't go around giving them hugs and kisses,'' she replied.

Carmela Menashe, the military correspondent for Israel radio, said attitudes have begun to change.

In the past two years, male commanders ``have been petrified to do anything that can be construed as ***ual harassment,'' she said. ``There was a lot of harassment and women were afraid to complain, but now there is greater awareness.''

The army also has regulations designed to head off potential problems, including a ban on having *** at a military base.

Still, some women say it remains a serious problem.

Danit Goldfarb, a 20-year-old soldier, is the daughter of two army officers and was warned what to expect, but was still surprised by male officers' attitudes.

``I know of someone who complained about ***ual harassment, and instead of dealing with the problem, the army discharged her,'' Goldfarb said. ``We get mixed messages -- we are told to complain, but then the complaint is not investigated.''