After spending many months searching for the hostages and the missing in the Gaza Strip, and after ensuring the proper burial of the war dead, soldiers of the IDF Chief Rabbinate’s search unit have begun serving on the front lines in Judea and Samaria, for the first time since their formation.
On October 7, soldiers of the various search units were called up, and within hours, while the fighting was still ongoing on the Gaza Perimeter, soldiers of the search unit began operating within the settlements to find the bodies and have them buried properly.
Due to the stretching of reserve forces to breaking point due to the intense fighting in the south and north, the IDF began searching for additional forces that can help in Judea and Samaria. When the IDF Rabbinate heard of this need, it began to build a model which would integrate the search unit into this activity in accordance with the demand of IDF Chief Rabbi Eyal Krim to put his corps at the disposal of the IDF for all army needs.
This is a dramatic event, in two ways.
First, this is a fundamental change of mindset, since the Rabbinate has not until now been considered a combat force, and now its fighting units will be involved in ongoing operations.
Second, now there is a need for a broad logistical infrastructure which the Rabbinate did not need before.