Sergeant Major Avishag Shiran Malka, 38, is the only female ultra-Orthodox member of the Israel Border Police. The stringent religious practice of the ultra-Orthodox combined with the intense nature of her work can be challenging, she admits, which in part explains why she’s the only one.
In Israel, the ultra-Orthodox, or haredim, in general frown on any type of military service. Remarkably, Avishag received the blessing of her rabbi, who viewed it as shlichut, a word which doesn’t have an exact translation in English but combines a sense of mission, duty, devotion and service.
