‘It’s all about coexistence’

Two organizations come together in an unlikely partnership to achieve a unified goal

By JOSH HASTEN
Religious and secular mechinot521 (photo credit: Avi Hayon)
Religious and secular mechinot521
(photo credit: Avi Hayon)
Whether it’s differences in politics, religious observance or many other factors that may keep Israelis apart, there is one organization whose diverse leadership has put their differences aside in order to cultivate the next generation of leaders in civil society.
Known as the Joint Council of Mechinot, or Israeli Zionist Leadership Academies, this small but committed group of lay-leaders and professionals has taken the reins in operating Israel’s 42 pre-army leadership academies.
The branches spanning the country are designed to offer future soldiers a nurturing experience that will not only enhance their IDF service, but will instill within them the values they will need post-army to better Israeli society and the Jewish people.
At the helm of the program, which this year boasts an enrollment of 2,800 participants, are co-directors Rabbi Col. Moshe Hager Lau, who has served for the past 22 years as the head of the religious Mechinat Beit Yair located in the South Hebron Hills, and with Dani Zamir, a practicing attorney who has been the head of the secular Mechinat Rabin, located at the Oranim Academic College in Kiryat Tivon near Haifa, for the past 17 years.
In an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post, Lau and Zamir discuss how they are able to successfully collaborate despite their vast personal philosophical differences.
What’s unique about the pair is that while Lau is religiously observant and a member of the Gush Emunim settler movement, Zamir is openly secular and a member of Peace Now.
“This is the only organization that I know of where Gush Emunim and Peace Now work together and is successful,” says Zamir. Lau cites an amazing collaboration between the two heads of the organization, based on a “true will towards success.”
According to the pair there are 19 mechinot in Israel that are defined as religious, with 18 for boys and one for girls. The other 23 mechinot are geared towards the secular population.
But Zamir says the real story here isn’t just about how he and Lau are able to put their differences aside and work together, but how their relationship is a microcosm of what they are trying to accomplish.
The real test, he says, “is seeing what happens to the kids, who stem from different populations and with diverse political views who attend a mechina. We are interested to see not only what they accomplish in the army, but what happens after the army, finding out if they remain here to live, and if so, how they are contributing to society.”
While establishing unity within the ranks of the IDF as well as life after service is a main objective, according to Lau and Zamir, the respective mechinot are set up to cater to the needs of the high-school graduates in terms of where they are holding right now.
Lau says that the goal for the students in the religious mechinot is to “prepare them mentally and physically for their army service, by providing them with the spiritual strength they will need as soldiers.” He adds that in the past, for many years, it was difficult for religious soldiers to maintain their observance. But thanks to the values instilled at the mechina through a combination of intense Torah learning, a focus on Jewish identity and a love of the Land of Israel, he says that soldiers are now more able to maintain their religious lifestyles.
Zamir, on the other hand, says that the students who attend the secular mechinot often come from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds with limited motivation and support from their parents or schools.
While Jewish identity is also a focus for these students, a significant amount of time is spent learning about the importance of community service.
“A lot of our students come from a competitive world where the focus is on the individual, and they can be cynical. We teach them the importance of contributing and bettering society, and also the significance of playing a role in the country’s national agenda,” says Zamir.
But while the philosophical differences in the religious and secular mechinot might lead to a focus on different aspects of leadership skills, there is still collaboration within the mechina system, which allows the students to become exposed to peers from different backgrounds.
“Our [secular] mechinot work in collaboration with the other [religious] mechinot all the time,” says Zamir. There are ample numbers of joint programs that bring all groups together.
Some of the specific joint programs detailed by Lau and Zamir involve national issues, which have had tremendous impact on Israeli society – including a curriculum studied on the date marking the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, as well as a program discussing the destruction of Jewish communities in Gush Katif.
Another broached topic is the issue of “equal service” for all citizens.
“At the Rabin Mechina, most of the students come from center to left-wing homes,” says Zamir. “The joint programs allow them to learn about issues facing the settler community. This type of experience is something that will benefit them while in the army, and will give them an understanding of other types of communities once they are out.”
Lau says that such encounters do wonders to “break extreme stigmas that exist between groups,” adding that “some are surprised that I don’t hate Dani [for his views], but in the army, or in a war, you have to put aside your differences and we are all together as one.”
“It’s all about coexistence,” Zamir adds.
Both Lau and Zamir say that enrollment numbers in mechinot have been steadily on the rise since the first mechina was founded in the community of Eli in 1987. According to numbers released by the council leading up to a festive endof- year ceremony, held at the end of May in the presence of some of the country’s top government ministers and army officials, this year alone saw a 10-percent increase in participation.
Also, the mechinot movement got a tremendous boost in 2009, when the Knesset in a unanimous 73-0 vote passed the “Mechinot Law,” which granted the programs official recognition and government funding.
When it comes to statistics, both Lau and Zamir are quick to cite the high level of accomplishment within the IDF of students who attend a mechina before enlisting.
Based on IDF official numbers, 79.5% of mechina graduates serve in IDF combat units, compared to the national average of 44%. More than 18% of mechina graduates enlist in officer training courses or double the national average, while 24% actually become officers – which is three times the average.
While both Lau and Zamir are tremendously proud of these figures, their greatest sense of pride remains the post-army accomplishments of mechina graduates.
“We’ve had graduates establish whole communities in Israel, sometimes in difficult socioeconomic locations within the periphery,” says Lau. “In other cases, our graduates came back and established thriving neighborhoods near the mechina itself [that] they attended.”
The bottom line, says Lau, “is that our students become dedicated and connected members and leaders of society.”
Zamir provides examples of mechina graduates who have achieved great success in the professional world. “Some of our graduates have achieved above and beyond anything we’ve expected. Some have high-level positions in government, in the media, and in the security services. Others have founded their own nonprofit organizations in order to give back to society.
“This is something greater than we have ever dreamed of.” ■