Education and Youth Corps
The Education and Youth Corps is a corps of the Israel Defense Forces' Personnel Directorate responsible for the education of IDF personnel. Its mission purpose it to instruct and develop "national values" among Israeli servicemembers.
Goal and designation
According to former Chief Education Officer Avner Shalev, the aims of the education system in the IDF are to increase the motivation and morale of the troops and units. This is achieved by introducing cultural activities into the lives of soldiers, teaching them about the country and its values—both national and universal—as well as by teaching them about the nature of their duties as soldiers and citizens of the state.Structure
The Education and Youth Corps is divided into two main brigades - the Magen division and the education division - as well as 6 independent units directly subordinate to the Chief Education Officer:- The Jerusalem College
- Planning and organization branch
- Education and youth training base
- The School for Leadership
- The army weekly magazine Bamahane
- Israeli Army Radio
Magen division
The Magen, comprises four IDF education programs:- Mak'am, a program initiated by Rafael Eitan to call up and support soldiers who would otherwise not be called up, such as those with serious educational deficiencies, long criminal histories, etc. These are termed 'adaptation problems' in the IDF, and those with a rating of 40-60 are considered Mak'am youth. The Mak'am base is called Havat HaShomer and located in the north of the country, and trains those Mak'am youth with the most serious problems.
- Teacher soldiers, a program to train soldiers to become teachers in the civilian sector.
- Gadna, short paramilitary training programs for high school youth. The Gadna program has 3 such training bases - Tzalmon in the north, Ju'ara in the center, and Sde Boker in the south of the country.
- Nahal Nucleus, another pre-military-age program.
Education division
The education division serves as the professional guide for the other units of the corps, and of the IDF in general. It is divided into 6 branches:- Mak'am branch
- Education and Hasbara branch
- Culture branch
- Aliyah branch
- Arm and corps branch
- Moriah branch
Education and youth training base
The Education and youth training base, or by its name Sha'arei Avraham was built near the Re'em Junction in the Lachish Valley near Kiryat Mal'akhi.Many of the soldiers in various roles in the Education Corps get their training in the Youth Education Training Base.
Among these roles:
- Mashakit Hod מש"קית הו"ד - teaching and command NCO
- Madan Merhav and Basis מד"ן מרחב ובסיס - a youth guide in the base and region
- Mashakit Hinukh מש"קית חינוך - education NCO
- Mashakit Aliya מש"קית עלייה - immigration NCO
- Military ensemble
- Museum guides
- The teacher-soldiers who are also a part of the Education Corps don't get their training in the Youth Education Training Base, but in a civic seminary called Ramot Shapira, which is in moshav Beit Meir, next to Jerusalem. this is a result of the "lending agreement" with the Education Minister of Israel.
Insignia
The emblem of the Education and Youth Corps is composed of four stripes integrating into one flame.Three of them represent the three different centers of the corps and the fourth represents the headquarters of the corps.