Rabin Pre-Military Academy
Encyclopedia
The Rabin Pre-Military Academy (full name: המכינה הקדם-צבאית להכשרת מנהיגות חברתית ע"ש יצחק רבין; HaMekhina HaKdam-Tzva'it LeHakhsharat Manhigut Hevratit Al Shem Yitzhak Rabin—The Pre-army Preparatory Program for Training Social Leadership, named for Yitzhak Rabin
) is a secular mechinah for high-school graduates in Israel
, located at the Oranim College
in the Western Galilee
. Founded in 1998, the program features intensive studies in a range of subjects focusing on the sociopolitics of Israel, its history focusing on the pre-state pioneering settlers, Jewish studies, and humanistic-ideological aspects of current events, as well as personal development. The studies are combined with volunteer service in the public school system of outlying communities. The 10-month residential program defers compulsory military service in the framework of the post-secondary "year of service" (sh'nat sherut), after which its graduates are inducted into the Israel Defense Forces
. The academy was founded and still directed by Danny Zamir who is a deputy battalion commander in the reserves. .
From its inception, Mechinat Rabin has been sponsored by the Oranim Academic College, Oranim's HaMidrasha Educational Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Israel, the United Kibbutz Movement, and the Yitzhak Rabin Center
. It operates under the auspices of both the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Defense
. Other supporting institutions include the Avi Chai Foundation
, the Jewish Federation of New York, and the Jewish Agency.
Classroom studies at Mechinat Rabin are taught by a core staff, most of whom are graduates of the program, along with hired instructors, with weekly guest lecturers and offsite field trips. Study material is provided by the staff and includes content from Hamidrasha. During the course of the program, each participant prepares and delivers at least one lesson to the group, an hour and a half in length. The year concludes with a tour of the country from south to north, lasting several weeks, visiting a wide variety of populations and locales. Students spend several days attending a religious pre-army mechinah or yeshiva
. The program does not include weapons training or paramilitary drills. Participation in Mechinat Rabin requires a commitment to serve in the IDF, such that a declaration of conscientious objection would result in expulsion from the program.
The dormitory facilities on the Oranim campus are converted caravans, with a communal kitchen and dining hall where participants take turns preparing breakfast and supper for the group, and a single building with showers and lavatories. Oranim also provides classroom facilities and the use of its library and cafeteria. In the 2006/7 academic year, Mechinat Rabin had its peak enrollment of 70 recent high-school graduates.
During their mechinah year, participants have regular assignments as volunteers in schools in the Galilee
towns of Yoqneam, Migdal Haemek, and Nazareth Illit
, an area hit by unemployment and having limited resources. They work as classroom aides and tutors, and also create extracurricular activities. A growing phenomenon is the return of groups of graduates after their discharge from the IDF, to live in these outlying towns and work in the field of education there.
Besides their volunteer placements, Mechinat Rabin participants are largely responsible for organizing and operating the program's logistics. Committees plan and purchase food, invite the guest lecturers, and find places for temporary jobs by which the participants contribute to financing the program. During several breaks in the study program during the year, they work at temporary jobs in agriculture and education, raising funds to cover 15% of the program's expenses. No tuition or other fees are charged.
For their compulsory military service, mechinah participants are encouraged to enter one of two focal tracks: the girls to positions as command in the Education and Youth Corps
, and the boys to the Givati Brigade
. Others are accepted into the commandos and other elite units, intelligence, or are part of a Nahal
group. Members of the Mechinat Rabin educational staff, themselves IDF reservists and most with officers' rank, make periodic visits to groups of graduates at their bases and also are available for personal consultation on an ad hoc basis.
Mechinat Rabin publishes a newsletter for its graduates called Briza ("Breeze") it maintains on its website with a discussion forum and activities updates. Throughout the year, Mechinat Rabin hosts Friday and weekend gatherings of graduates, by year or all together (2008/9 being the 11th year). These regular gatherings focus on current events and topics related to the mechinah's program content, as well as for developing new and ongoing educational and community projects for the graduates who've returned to civilian life.
operation gathered for a discussion of their experiences. These testimonies included accounts of IDF soldiers killing Palestinian civilians and intentionally destroying property under what have been described as "permissive rules of engagement" (ibid.). The nature of the accounts prompted Danny Zamir, the founder and director of Mechinat Rabin as well as being a deputy battalion commander in the reserves, to approach IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi
. The latter's bureau requested and received a transcript of the accounts. Zamir subsequently aired his concerns in a meeting with the IDF Chief Education Officer, Brig. Gen. Eli Shermeister. Notes of the soldiers' discussion were published in the mechina's newsletter and came to the general public's attention with articles in the mainstream daily Haaretz
on March 19 and 20, and broke globally on March 20 with the lead article in the International Herald Tribune
print edition and on the Israeli reaction in its electronic edition. Soon after the publication of the testimonies, reports implying that the testimonies were based on hearsay and not on the first-hand experience started to circulate in Israeli media.
The IDF conducted an investigation and the Military Advocate General
announced that the soldiers testimonies regarding civilians being shot were based on hearsay
and no corroborating evidence was found.
Danny Zamir (who himself appears in a 2004 book titled Refusnik That was what Zamir wrote in 1990, reprinted in 2004. The testimonies of the soldiers that he brought to the public's attention seem to corroborate - what a coincidence - his thesis.) told Jerusalem Post that he believes the IDF operated in a way in which it tried to protect civilians in the crowded Gaza Strip and that described acts of vandalism do not make the IDF an army of war criminals. After Israeli military prosecutor’s decision 65 reservists who served in Operation Cast Lead, sent the letter to Attorney-General Mazuz and asked that he launch a criminal investigation against Haaretz
on charges of slander for reporting on the testimonies as if they were fact and not hearsay
.
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
) is a secular mechinah for high-school graduates in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, located at the Oranim College
Oranim
Oranim is a teacher training college in northern Israel. The college was founded in 1951 by the United Kibbutz Movement. It was named after the small forest of pine trees in the area. It trains kindergarten, elementary and upper school teachers and offers BA, BSc, BEd and MEd...
in the Western Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. Founded in 1998, the program features intensive studies in a range of subjects focusing on the sociopolitics of Israel, its history focusing on the pre-state pioneering settlers, Jewish studies, and humanistic-ideological aspects of current events, as well as personal development. The studies are combined with volunteer service in the public school system of outlying communities. The 10-month residential program defers compulsory military service in the framework of the post-secondary "year of service" (sh'nat sherut), after which its graduates are inducted into the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
. The academy was founded and still directed by Danny Zamir who is a deputy battalion commander in the reserves. .
From its inception, Mechinat Rabin has been sponsored by the Oranim Academic College, Oranim's HaMidrasha Educational Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Israel, the United Kibbutz Movement, and the Yitzhak Rabin Center
Yitzhak Rabin Center
The Yitzhak Rabin Center is a library and research center in Tel Aviv, Israel, built in memory of assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin....
. It operates under the auspices of both the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Defense (Israel)
The Ministry of Defence of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats...
. Other supporting institutions include the Avi Chai Foundation
AVI CHAI Foundation
AVI CHAI is a private foundation endowed in 1984 by Sanford Bernstein, a well-known successful investor who become a Modern Orthodox Baal teshuva and who had wanted to further the cause of outreach to alienated and assimilated Jews worldwide. Avi-Chai functions in the United States and in Israel...
, the Jewish Federation of New York, and the Jewish Agency.
Classroom studies at Mechinat Rabin are taught by a core staff, most of whom are graduates of the program, along with hired instructors, with weekly guest lecturers and offsite field trips. Study material is provided by the staff and includes content from Hamidrasha. During the course of the program, each participant prepares and delivers at least one lesson to the group, an hour and a half in length. The year concludes with a tour of the country from south to north, lasting several weeks, visiting a wide variety of populations and locales. Students spend several days attending a religious pre-army mechinah or yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
. The program does not include weapons training or paramilitary drills. Participation in Mechinat Rabin requires a commitment to serve in the IDF, such that a declaration of conscientious objection would result in expulsion from the program.
The dormitory facilities on the Oranim campus are converted caravans, with a communal kitchen and dining hall where participants take turns preparing breakfast and supper for the group, and a single building with showers and lavatories. Oranim also provides classroom facilities and the use of its library and cafeteria. In the 2006/7 academic year, Mechinat Rabin had its peak enrollment of 70 recent high-school graduates.
During their mechinah year, participants have regular assignments as volunteers in schools in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
towns of Yoqneam, Migdal Haemek, and Nazareth Illit
Nazareth Illit
Nazareth Illit is a city in the North District of Israel. At the end of 2007 it had a population of 40,800.Nazareth Illit was founded in the 1950s. Foundations were laid in 1954 and first residents moved in two years later...
, an area hit by unemployment and having limited resources. They work as classroom aides and tutors, and also create extracurricular activities. A growing phenomenon is the return of groups of graduates after their discharge from the IDF, to live in these outlying towns and work in the field of education there.
Besides their volunteer placements, Mechinat Rabin participants are largely responsible for organizing and operating the program's logistics. Committees plan and purchase food, invite the guest lecturers, and find places for temporary jobs by which the participants contribute to financing the program. During several breaks in the study program during the year, they work at temporary jobs in agriculture and education, raising funds to cover 15% of the program's expenses. No tuition or other fees are charged.
For their compulsory military service, mechinah participants are encouraged to enter one of two focal tracks: the girls to positions as command in the Education and Youth Corps
Israeli Education and Youth Corps
The Israeli Education and Youth Corps is the IDF Manpower Directorate corps responsible for the education of soldiers and commanders in Israel's military...
, and the boys to the Givati Brigade
Givati Brigade
The Givati Brigade is an infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, and serves as its amphibious force. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets...
. Others are accepted into the commandos and other elite units, intelligence, or are part of a Nahal
Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
group. Members of the Mechinat Rabin educational staff, themselves IDF reservists and most with officers' rank, make periodic visits to groups of graduates at their bases and also are available for personal consultation on an ad hoc basis.
Mechinat Rabin publishes a newsletter for its graduates called Briza ("Breeze") it maintains on its website with a discussion forum and activities updates. Throughout the year, Mechinat Rabin hosts Friday and weekend gatherings of graduates, by year or all together (2008/9 being the 11th year). These regular gatherings focus on current events and topics related to the mechinah's program content, as well as for developing new and ongoing educational and community projects for the graduates who've returned to civilian life.
Mechinat Rabin graduates' testimonies after Operation Cast Lead
On February 13, 2009, a month after Operation Cast Lead, graduates of Mechinat Rabin who had taken part in that GazaGaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
operation gathered for a discussion of their experiences. These testimonies included accounts of IDF soldiers killing Palestinian civilians and intentionally destroying property under what have been described as "permissive rules of engagement" (ibid.). The nature of the accounts prompted Danny Zamir, the founder and director of Mechinat Rabin as well as being a deputy battalion commander in the reserves, to approach IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi
Gabi Ashkenazi
Gavriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi , was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defence Forces from 2007 to 2011.- Background and early life :...
. The latter's bureau requested and received a transcript of the accounts. Zamir subsequently aired his concerns in a meeting with the IDF Chief Education Officer, Brig. Gen. Eli Shermeister. Notes of the soldiers' discussion were published in the mechina's newsletter and came to the general public's attention with articles in the mainstream daily Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
on March 19 and 20, and broke globally on March 20 with the lead article in the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
print edition and on the Israeli reaction in its electronic edition. Soon after the publication of the testimonies, reports implying that the testimonies were based on hearsay and not on the first-hand experience started to circulate in Israeli media.
The IDF conducted an investigation and the Military Advocate General
Military Advocate General
The Military Advocate General assists the Israel Defense Forces in imposing rules of conduct through legal advice, legal instruction, maintaining the mechanisms for military prosecution and legal defense, and fulfilling special legal tasks...
announced that the soldiers testimonies regarding civilians being shot were based on hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...
and no corroborating evidence was found.
Danny Zamir (who himself appears in a 2004 book titled Refusnik That was what Zamir wrote in 1990, reprinted in 2004. The testimonies of the soldiers that he brought to the public's attention seem to corroborate - what a coincidence - his thesis.) told Jerusalem Post that he believes the IDF operated in a way in which it tried to protect civilians in the crowded Gaza Strip and that described acts of vandalism do not make the IDF an army of war criminals. After Israeli military prosecutor’s decision 65 reservists who served in Operation Cast Lead, sent the letter to Attorney-General Mazuz and asked that he launch a criminal investigation against Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
on charges of slander for reporting on the testimonies as if they were fact and not hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...
.
See also
- IDF Code of Conduct