Discrimination of Women in the Israeli Air Force

Case Study

Discrimination of Women in the Israeli Air Force

Rebecca Kaas

u08a1 Case Study

BUS4801 Ethics and Enterprise

Describe:

In November 1995, a young woman named Alice Miller, a licensed commercial pilot and aeronautics student, who wanted the opportunity to qualify as a pilot in the Israeli Air Force. The current Israeli Air Force policy automatically barred women from the training courses for military pilots. Alice Miller, together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Israel Women’s Network petitioned the Supreme Court in a lawsuit and claimed that the exclusion of women from all flying positions in the military violated women’s right to equality. The Supreme Court accepted the suit and ordered the military authorities to open the training courses for pilots to women on an equal basis with men, and if found eligible, to participate in the pilot training program. The decision also facilitated women’s integration into combat roles in other branches of the military, such as the Navy (Rimalt, 2005).

Discern:

The most significant ethical issue at stake is equal opportunity for women in the military. According to an article published by the Israel Women’s Network entitled “Integration of Women Into the Military, “Israel is one of the few states in which military service is compulsory for men and women; however, women’s service has been confined to non-combat roles such as nurses, clerks, radio operators, flight controllers, and course instructors” (p.1.).

Display:

The main options available to the Israeli Air Force:

1. Accept the court’s ruling and revise the Israeli military’s policy to accept women into pilot training programs.

2. Initiate an experimental program to facilitate integration of women into pilot training courses.

3. Provide equal opportunity training for all members of the Israeli armed forces to facilitate understanding and acceptance of the new policy.

4. Establish a comprehensive program on...