Some 2,000 high school students will spend a week on military bases around Israel this school year as part of an initiative by Education Minister Naftali Bennett to increase their motivation to serve in "meaningful roles" during their compulsory military service in the Israel Defense Forces.
Bennett announced the program two months ago, which includes bringing officers to schools, doubling the number of students enrolled in pre-military preparatory programs, and expanding military base visitation programs for students.
One of the principal aims of the program is to strengthen the motivation of high school students to take on combat roles, which has weakened in the recent past.
In recent weeks, the Education Ministry, Defense Ministry and IDF have compiled a list of military bases and schools slated to participate in the program. A number of the bases participating in the program are situated in Judea and Samaria.
Some 2,000 11th-graders from 16 schools will spend a week participating in drills, training in nighttime field exercises and hearing war stories. The chosen schools are ones with already high military enlistment rates.
The students will undergo an induction and orientation process and a hike through the area before being assigned to their tents. Later, they will attend daytime and nighttime tactical field classes to hear war stories and learn discipline, how to deal with challenges, the importance of meaningful military service, and ethics.
The students will spend time in either a naval base, the Artillery Corps training base in Shivta, one of the Infantry Corps training bases, the Combat Engineering Corps training base or a Homefront Command training base.
For the 2018-2019 school year, the Education Ministry is expected to double the number of students visiting the military bases through the program to 4,000.
Schools will also host officers and soldiers to teach students Israel's military legacy.
On Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism, joint ceremonies are scheduled for schools and military bases.
Commenting on the program, Bennett said, "Service in the IDF is not only an obligation, it is a privilege.
"The IDF belongs to all of us and it comprises all the beautiful shades of Israeli society. I see great national importance in connecting the education system to the IDF and developing a propensity for a meaningful service already during high school. I believe that the students of today are the commanders of tomorrow, and I want to ignite their internal will to go as far as possible in the chain of command."
Education Ministry Director General Shmuel Abuav said that in the program, "We are allowing students to experience the true reality of military service by meeting soldiers who specifically serve in combat military units.
"We intend to expand our meaningful initiative to include thousands more students."
