Knesset panel blasts Halutz for abolishing IDF womens' adviser
IDF says position of adviser on women's affairs not abolished, but combine head of staff department position.
By Gideon Alon and Haaretz CorrespondentThe Knesset commission for the advancement of women on Thursday said it was opposed to Israel Defense Forces chief of Staff Dan Halutz's decision to abolish the position of the IDF's adviser on womens' affairs.
"We see in this position something that has useful and symbolic value, who's existence shows that the IDF feels obligated to deal with the issue," MK Gideon Sa'ar (Likud), who heads the commission, wrote in a statement to Halutz.
Sa'ar also said the Knesset has the authority to pass legislation on the issue, which it could use if a balancing monitor wasn't found to deal with the matter.
General Eliezer Stern, head of the IDF human resources division, said that the position has not been dissolved but rather joined together with the position of head of the staff department.
Stern said the union of the two positions would advance the standing of women in the army, since the head of the department is in charge of promotions in the military, and "sits in a position that gives her great influence."
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