Alter Kaker wrote: "I'm not sure if the situation is different in the States, but I don't believe we've ever had a problem in Israel with discipline or unit cohesion just because we don't force gays to keep their gayness a secret."
Like all soldiers, yours probably follow military orders. Are those soldiers who are opposed to homosexuality allowed to speak out against it, or would that be considered discrimination? For example, what if a Jew in the IDF says the Torah condemns homosexuality? Is that allowed? I'm curious.
I bet our own soldiers would obey if they were told to serve with homosexuals. No doubt regulations would prevent them from creating a hostile or intimidating environment for the new enlistees. However, that doesn't mean gays would be accepted, trusted or wanted. Maybe I'm a Neanderthal, but I wouldn't want to be sleeping in a tent or showering with a guy who might be sexually attracted to me (not that I'm anything special). I mean, I understand it's possible to control urges, but we don't let male and female soldiers shower together for similar reasons.
It's certainly allowed with the obvious caveat that we can't have harassment affect overall readiness. The IDF is concerned with military readiness, not with soldiers' off-base sexual practices. If soldiers' want to express their own opinions and beliefs, that's welcome, again to the extent of affecting the integrity of the unit. When I served, I knew a lot of people I disliked -- and in some cases despised -- and I always found it easy to find a happy medium that allowed me to work alongside them while making my opinions of them clear.
Maybe I'm a Neanderthal, but I wouldn't want to be sleeping in a tent or showering with a guy who might be sexually attracted to me (not that I'm anything special).
I don't know what to say, other than that's not been an issue for us in Israel. Units work fine, and if a gay soldier has ever raped a straight soldier, I haven't heard about it.