Alice Miller () an
Israeli pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
who successfully sued the
Israeli military
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
for the right to enlist in the
pilot's academy.
Biography
Miller, a native of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, migrated to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
at the age of 6.
While attending
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
, Miller began to complain about the
Israeli Defense Force
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...
refusing women the ability to try out for combat roles despite the
compulsory military service
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
.
By age 22, she was completing a degree in
aerospace engineering from the
Technion while on
deferment from the army and had already received a civilian
pilot's license
Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are regulated by ICAO Annex 1 and issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. CAA’s have to establish that the holder has met a speci ...
from South Africa.
Miller would apply for the
pilot's academy in November of 1993 and proceeded to sue the government for discrimination when they rejected her.
She sued the military for the right to take the qualification test, ultimately opening combat roles for women; among her arguments she cited female combatants in the
Israeli War for Independence, some of which who would later serve as pilots.
The ban on female pilots was taken to the
Israeli Supreme Court
ar, المحكمة العليا
, image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg
, imagesize = 100px
, caption = Emblem of Israel
, motto =
, established =
, location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem
, coordina ...
in 1995 and deemed unconstitutional in 1996. After gaining the right to try out for the pilot's program, Miller, then an
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
in the military, passed the entrance exam but was declared medically unfit for the program later that same year.
Miller would be followed by the first female graduate, Sari Rahat, in 1998 and the program's first female
fighter pilot,
Roni Zuckerman, in 2001.
Since 2021 Miller is a VP space a
Helios
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Alice
South African Jews
Israeli women aviators
Israeli officers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people