For the first time, haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Hashmonaim Brigade soldiers have graduated from an officers’ course, the IDF announced.
The course maintained full IDF standards, including all instruction given to cadets at the IDF’s Officers’ School (Bahad 1), while also allowing graduates to maintain their haredi lifestyle, the army said on Friday.
Following their graduation on Wednesday, the haredi officers must now undergo four additional months of training in the Gefen course, along with the general infantry course at Bahad 1.
They will then be integrated into various officer roles in the Hashmonaim Brigade.
“You are at a significant and important stage on your path to becoming officers,” the brigade commander, Col. S., told the graduates.
“This is a difficult and challenging path even in normal times, and especially now, when we are in the midst of a flood that is stirring up the country, Col. S. said.
“Even in the original flood, Noah’s ark stood firm in the midst of the storm and the flood. You, the cadets, are inside this ark and continue your training with distinction. When the situation outside is over, you will be here to lead the brigade and the people of Israel forward,” the colonel continued.
Haredi officer course is milestone in drawing ultra-Orthodox to IDF
According to the IDF, the officers’ course represented a “significant milestone” in attempts to integrate more haredim into the military.
“The course is part of a series of unprecedented steps that the IDF has taken over the past three years,” the IDF said, “with the aim of enabling service members from the haredi community to develop into command and officer positions, while adapting these service paths to their needs and fully preserving their lifestyle.”