Visiting the 'Hanit,' Peres declares: Soldiers should be able to get degrees

President says since return to service last December after Hizbullah missile strike, ship has taken part in 2 successful ops.

By YAAKOV KATZ
hanit 224.88 (photo credit: IDF)
hanit 224.88
(photo credit: IDF)
The President's Office is working on a plan to enable soldiers to obtain a bachelor's degree during their three-year mandatory military service, President Shimon Peres said on Tuesday as he took to the high seas aboard the INS Hanit off the coast of Haifa. The INS Hanit, a Sa'ar 5-class missile ship, was struck by a Hizbullah land-to-sea missile in the first week of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Four sailors were killed and extensive damage was caused to the ship. Since its return to service last December, the ship had taken part in two successful operations, Peres said, and last week successfully test-fired the Barak anti-missile defense system that had been deactivated when the ship was hit on July 14, 2006. The Barak missile system was designed to defend naval vessels against enemy missiles and aircraft. OC Navy Adm. Eliezer Marom greeted Peres at the Haifa Naval Base with an honor guard and later, together with the navy's other top officers, briefed him on recent operations as well as on the ongoing construction of two Dolphin-class submarines in Germany. V.-Adm. Ram Rothberg, commander of the Haifa Naval Base, told Peres that Hizbullah was developing a sea-based capability. "We are always on high alert for the possibility that a war will break out any day, particularly in the north," Rothberg said. "Hizbullah now controls Lebanon and has a naval force that they operate. The group is also succeeding in smuggling in weapons and we are preparing accordingly." Rothberg also addressed the possibility that Hamas might develop a naval force in the Gaza Strip. He said, however, that most of the navy's activity on the Gaza front was currently limited to gathering intelligence and preventing weapons smuggling. Peres said he had spoken about his educational initiative with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, officials in the Treasury and top IDF generals. "It can't be that a soldier serves for three years and doesn't get to benefit from a higher education like pilots," he said. During his visit on the INS Hanit, Peres recounted his days as a sailor during the War of Independence and his part in acquiring Israel's first military ships. In a lighter vein, Peres recalled how a Canadian aircraft carrier was purchased after it had been modified to become a steam-engine carrier. In Israel, he said, there were plans to re-modify the vessel back into an aircraft carrier. "Luckily, it sunk," he joked. He also recounted how, when Israel received its first submarine from the United Kingdom, he was told by his British hosts that the person who handed over the submarine was the first Jewish admiral. Peres told his listeners aboard the INS Hanit that he disagreed, saying: "Noah was the first Jewish admiral." Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.