Pete Hegseth Amplifies Israeli Decision to Stop Training Female Combat Soldiers

Prior to becoming U.S. Secretary of Defense, former Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth said during a podcast interview in November 2024 that he didn’t think female soldiers should be in combat.

The future SecDef said: “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.” He added, “It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.”

(Note: In 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, serving under President Barack Obama, lifted the ban on women serving in combat positions.)

At his Senate confirmation in January, Hegseth played down his previous claims that women should not serve in combat roles. Yet in his book, ‘The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,’ Hegseth explained his rationale by writing, “Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units.”

Today, Hegseth is amplifying an article in The Telegraph entitled: “Israel To Stop Training Female Combat Soldiers Over ‘Lack of Fitness,’” and added, “Worthy paying attention to. Israel takes standards & testing very seriously.”

According to 2016 data on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the national conscript military of the State of Israel comprises 60,000 males and 60,000 females. According to reporting by The Atlantic, “The IDF says that fewer than 4 percent of women are in combat positions. Rather, they are concentrated in ‘combat-support’ positions which command a lower compensation and status than combat positions.”

Note: In 2000, the Equality Amendment to the Military Service law in Israel stated that the right of women to serve in any role in the IDF is equal to the right of men. Former IDF General Ehud Barack, whose IDF military career spanned 35 years and who shares with two others the honor of being the most highly decorated soldier in Israel’s history, was Prime Minister of Israel at the time.

Hegseth’s post is largely receiving encouragement and concurrence — mixed with some misogynist comments — from MAGA supporters on X. But as one opposing voice wrote: “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that using the Israeli military as a guide for *anything* right now is probably not the wisest thing to do.” Another, more typical in its agreement with Hegseth, noted: “The @IDF is the gold standard of the military.”