Published: 09:29 AM, 26 March 2026
Israel cashes on feminist rhetoric to validate Palestine occupation
For many Israelis who once again find themselves at war, such sentiments convey a clear message about the values - liberal and feminist - they imagine themselves to represent, as well as those they claim to be fighting against. Collected
Four Israeli pilots stand, visors down and arms crossed, in front of a warplane - a classic Top Gun-style pose of military prowess, but with a twist. The four pilots are women, with long hair falling onto their shoulders from under their helmets, reports Middle East Eye.
It is an image that has been circulating for years, and it resurfaced again in the opening days of the US-Israeli assault on Iran.
The involvement of female fighter pilots in the ongoing operation has been a cause for self-congratulation for Israel's military, and a point of pride and vindication for many Israelis.
"Approx 30 female aircrew members, including pilots and navigators, are taking part in strikes in the skies over Iran as part of Operation 'Roaring Lion'," the Israeli army posted on social media on Monday.
The messaging was also picked up by Yair Golan, the leader of the left-wing Democrats party, who shared the image of the female fighter pilots in a post on social media.
"The participation of dozens of female air crew members in the complex strikes in Iran as part of Operation 'Lion's Roar' is irrefutable proof that daring, professionalism, and patriotism have no gender," Golan wrote.
For many Israelis who once again find themselves at war, such sentiments convey a clear message about the values - liberal and feminist - they imagine themselves to represent, as well as those they claim to be fighting against.
More than 90 percent of Jewish Israelis, spanning the political spectrum from leftists and liberals to the coalition government's far-right base, support the military attack on Iran, according to a recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent research centre.
In street interviews, social media posts and television debates, Israeli women reiterate the same point: they are willing to live under bombardment if it means helping Iranians - and particularly Iranian women - achieve freedom.
