Caracal Battalion
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The 33rd "Caracal" Battalion () is an
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
combat battalion of the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
, one of the three fully combat units (alongside the ' Lions of Jordan Battalion' and the ' Cheetah Battalion') in the Israeli military's
Paran Brigade The Paran Brigade is an Israeli regular infantry regional brigade that is subordinated to the 80th Division and traditionally associated with the Southern Command. The Paran Brigade was established through a reconfiguration of the Sagi Brigade. ...
that are composed of both male and female soldiers. It is named after the
caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...
, a small
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
whose sexes appear the same. , approximately 70% of the battalion was female.


History

Prior to Caracal's formation in 2000, women were barred from serving in direct combat. The unit has since been tasked with patrolling the Israeli-Egyptian border. It took part in Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
in the summer of 2005. Caracal Battalion engaged in combat on September 21, 2012 on the Egyptian border, following the infiltration of a group of terrorists. Responding to a radio report of the attack, in a fire-fight a female Caracal infantry soldier killed a terrorist, who was wearing a Suicide Belt. In October 2014, a jeep of the battalion was attacked by militants from the Egyptian border with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Two soldiers were injured. One of the injured, a female officer, Captain Or Ben-Yehuda, nonetheless dismounted from the jeep and returned fire killing one militant in the fire-fight. In November 2017, Caracal officially became part of the border array (alongside the 'Lions of Jordan Battalion' and the 'Cheetah Battalion') and replaced the green beret with a light yellow and brown camouflage. While Caracal is a mixed gender battalion, it has been 70% female since 2009. It is part of the 512th Sagi Brigade of the Southern Command. The unit badge incorporates the Sagi Brigade badge with the addition of the caracal cat.


Training

Members of the Caracal Battalion were formerly issued the Israeli-made Tavor assault rifle. but are now issued
M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...
s or
M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
s. Battalion members partake in a four-month basic training period that includes physical training and weapons training at the
Givati Brigade The 84th "Givati" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת גִּבְעָתִי, , "Hill Brigade" or "Highland Brigade") is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Until 2005, the Brigade used to be stationed within the Gaza Strip and primarily perf ...
training base.


Notable recruits

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
Noy, who is serving in the Caracal Battalion, was the first female officer to command a sniper platoon.
Elinor Joseph Elinor Joseph (, ; born 1991 in Jish, Israel) is an Israeli-Arab soldier who has served with the Caracal Battalion of the Israel Defense Forces since 2010. She is the first Arab woman ever to serve in a combat role in the Israeli military. Ba ...
, who has also served with the Caracal Battalion, is the first
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
woman ever to serve in a combat role in the Israeli Army. Captain Or Ben-Yehuda was awarded a
citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...
while serving in the Caracal Battalion. Ben-Yehuda was in charge of the Caracal Battalion which was stationed near the Israeli-Egyptian border. Nearly two dozen armed men opened fire on their position in an ambush attack on October 22, 2014. Although wounded in the volley of gunfire, Ben-Yehuda managed to get on the radio and call for backup, administer first aid to her driver and return several magazines worth of gunfire back at her attackers while waiting for reinforcements."This Female IDF Soldier Fought Off 23 Terrorists in Surprise Attack
, The Tribunist''


See also

*
Gender-blindness In education, business, law, and other fields, gender blindness or sex blindness is the practice of disregarding gender as a significant factor in interactions between people. In education Krista Ratcliffe writes that gender blindness function ...
*
Gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
*
Women in the Israel Defense Forces Women in the Israel Defense Forces have had a significant presence on the country's political scene since its independence in 1948. Israel is one of only a few countries in the world to have a mandatory military service requirement for women, ...
* Lionesses for National Defence - Syrian female combat roles


References

{{Israel Defense Forces Battalions of Israel Military units and formations established in 2000 Southern Command (Israel) Women in 21st-century warfare Infantry of Israel Women in the Israeli military