yom kippur.

It's about to be Yom Kippur.  One of the holiest days of the Jewish calender. It represents the time where you ask for forgivness from others but mostly from yourself and if you have a connection with G-d. then from G-d as well.  Its a time to mend and open up any tentions or connections you have.
On this Yom Kippur I want to bring up an incident that has been all over the news and in papers this week.  I normally don't comment on any political news but this event struck me.
    This past week there was a encounter with Terrorists.  The combat soldiers in the unit of Karkal, which is composed of both men and women faced the terrorists by storming and killing three terrorists.  One terrorists was killed by a woman combat soldier.  Another female soldier of the bregade hid behind a rock.  After 15 mins the fighting was done and the soldiers started looking for the soldier that hid behidn the rock, fearing that she was kidnapped.  Now that all the evidence is on the table.  She told reporters that she didn't storm because she had "no chance against them".
     She is now being put on trail for not following orders and storming. 
Ok- breathe.
I am still conflicted about how I feel about this.  We all want to say that men and women and equal .  We would all like to ignore the fact that physically the two genders are not built the same.  I am from a very liberal household- went to a hippy artsy college and truly believe that both genders should be treated equally and with respect.   Then the issue at hand comes to play.  If this had been a man combat soldier that did not follow orders and hid while his fellow soldiers put their lives at risk , society would have no objection but to look down at him with little to no pity and let him go straight to trail.  Now that this is a woman that serves in the IDF's unit where men and women are expected to fight along side -undergo same training and are treated the same for every step of the way- then why do we suddenly have compassion and understanding.
    One side of me believes that since this was a volunteery position in which this woman signed up for, knowing the type of situations she would get herself into - then she should be judged harshly and accordence with the law.  This is the equal rights bit , no?
     The other side of me says, if it was me standing on the boarder of Egypt with a Tavor in my hand against three terrorists could  I put everything aside and swarm in on them with my friends? I probably could not.   Another side of me thinks that this is an 18 year old girl that just finished high school, probably thought of her family and friends and did the logical thing in a fight or flight situation.  
     Coming to Israel I had hopes and dreams of being in a combat unit such as this one.  I have the highest respect for the combat soldiers in the IDF , the ones I train, live with and meet daily.  Both men and women.  I am lucky to have recieved the honor of training them with their weapons and am also lucky that I have not had to make such a choice or use the instinct of fight or flight like this woman did. 
     I am not sure what the right thing would be to say or do in a situation such as this.  I hope that this Yom Kippur, when everyone is going to Shuel that this combat soldier finds a peace within herself and that what ever trial she recieves it is one that is fitting and she can live with.  I wish everyone an easy fast, a compassionate week and a Mar Chatima Tova,
Michali.