Hello friends and welcome back to all of the Detroit Community Birthright Israel trip participants!
We missed you!
Since many of you came back with questions about Israel, I have decided to dedicate this week’s blog to answer a few of them. Hannah Weiss, a Hillel Program Associate, who just returned from Birthright Israel has shares these questions with us:
Q: What’s a lone soldier?
A: That is a great question! A Lone soldier is a soldier that has no family or support system. The most “common” form of lone soldiers are soldiers that make Aliyah in order to join the army or go to Israel just to join the army. These soldiers receive help from the army, and if they have family abroad they get paid leave to visit their families once a year. On some occasions, the army is brings the lone soldier’s parents to Israel as a surprise. A less common form of lone soldiers are Israeli soldiers that do have a first degree family in Israel (mother or father) but for some reason cannot live in their homes. These soldiers receive financial aid and housing aid from the army.
Q: How do you get placed in the military?
A: When Israeli teens turn 17 they received what is called ‘First Order’ (Tsav Rishon). This is the first time they are contacted from the army. First Order is the day when teenagers go to the recruitment centers for a medical checkup, psychometric exam and a personality exam. After the First Order, teenagers receive their “profile” based on their medical information. In addition to the medical profile, the Quality Group of the future soldier is being determined (Kaba). The criteria are determined by the academic achievements, level of involvement in the community, willingness to serve, the personality and psychometric exams. That number might influence the chances of the future soldiers to get promoted to commanding positions. According to the Medical profile and Quality Group, the soldier receives a questioner adequate for the future soldier. The future soldier has the opportunity to rank his preferences and the army promises to take their choices into consideration generally placing them in one of the first three choices. Some positions in the army requiring prior sorting. For example, if you want to serve in the Special Forces or Special Intelligence units, the future soldier will be summoned for checkups. If the teenager is accepted to a certain position, then he will be placed during their draft day (just like I was).
Q: How soon after the army do Israelis go to university and how long does it take the average student to graduate?
A: a lot of Israelis start university about a year or two after the army, sometimes people take longer and travel after the army, work to save up money to pay tuition and take the psychometric exams (Israeli SAT’s). On average, Israeli students take 3 years to complete their bachelor’s degree, and 4 years for engineering degrees. When students work during their studies they can choose to add another year or two to ease the load. The application process to university is usually easier in Israel, we apply through the university website and don’t usually need to write an essay, unless it’s a special or an exclusive program.
Q: What are Israeli goods that peoples don’t realize are Israeli?
A: There are so many! First of all, and maybe the most famous one among Israelis is the cherry tomatoes! Created by Israeli over 20 years ago, they were meant to ripen faster than regular tomatoes and have longer shelf life, the cherry tomatoes got their name because they look like cherries.
Another thing you might not have known is that the flash drive is an Israeli invention. Yes, that lifesaving little gadget that we all have a million of at home (but never find it when we need it) was released to the public in 1999 and became the world’s number one method for backing up data.
Another important technology invented in Israel is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), that is now being used in militaries worldwide. Israel is the number one export of this technology thanks to the quality of our air force.
Those are all the questions we have for today!
If you have any other questions that keep you up at night, or you just want answers for, please leave a comment or email me!
And not for this week’s Hebrew word of the week!!
Soldier = חייל = Chayal
Lone = בודד = Boded
Have more questions? Email me at or.hmdetroit@gmail.com.
Until next time…
Or
