With Itamar Ben Gvir and a moving surprise: Magav celebrated 30 years of female combatants
After being the first branch to open its ranks to women in combat roles, today about 45% of combatants in training in the Border Police are women. At a moving ceremony attended by senior officials past and present, one of the combatants was surprised in front of the audience.
This evening, a tribute assembly was held at the Border Police (Magav) to mark 30 years since the corps first opened its ranks to women in combat roles—a step that was considered groundbreaking at the time.
The event was attended by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, Police Commissioner Dani Levy, Border Police Commander Nitzav Brick Yitzhak, former Magav commanders, senior police officials, bereaved families, wounded soldiers of the corps, and other guests.
Thirty years ago, 26 female combatants in the first cycle chose to volunteer for combat service, serving as pioneers. Today, women serve in almost all roles and in the command structure of the corps. Almost 45% of the combatants in Border Police training are women.
During the assembly, the stories of female combatants and commanders from different generations were presented—from the first combatants, through those who operated in operational incidents and were awarded decorations for their courage, to the commanders and combatants serving today in all sectors of the Border Police.
Alongside the tribute to the generations of female combatants, a special memorial ceremony was held in memory of the 17 Border Police female combatants who fell during their service over the past three decades. A minute of silence was observed in their memory.
A particularly moving moment occurred during the speech of the Border Police Commander, when he invited to the stage a lone Magav combatant who had immigrated to Israel from Spain. During the ceremony, she was surprised when her father, whom she had not seen for a long time and who had arrived especially from Spain, entered the hall to reunite with her on stage.
Border Police Commander Nitzav Brick Yitzhak stated at the ceremony:
«I am proud that I have had the privilege of commanding the corps in a year when we mark three decades of female power in uniform. As someone in uniform and as a citizen of the country, I am proud of the path we have taken as a society and of our being a beacon for the entire Israeli society. In a corps that has inscribed equality on its banner since its establishment, we have set new standards, and in the DNA of the operational arm of the Israel Police, the expression 'equal among equals' is a matter of routine. Thirty years ago, it was you sitting here in front of me, the first pioneers who opened a door and a gate. Today, there is no door or gate that you, the generation of the future, do not pass through. Every day you are rewriting our story.»
