Mechinot Alumni - The Joint Council of Pre-Military Academies (Mechinot) - JCM

In partnership with KKL, the community-building movement of mechina alumni continues to devise events and lead processes to introduce young people to opportunities in the periphery, from the inauguration of the Western Negev Trail, to community-building collaborations in the Negev and Galilee, to the Young Cities Hackathon. The Be’Artzeinu team sums up a busy year

Despite the crisis, the mechina enterprise remains a force for social engagement. In a 3,000-strong campaign, the students of the mechinot are volunteering throughout Israel in agriculture, daycare for medical workers’ children, a Magen David Adom call center, and assistance for the elderly. All activities comply with the directives of the Ministry of Health

Adir Leiba came up with Bein Adam LaMakom during his mechina year. Since then, he’s launched a string of other initiatives that combine his two loves of art and education. Also: this is how the coronavirus outbreak has affected his volunteer work as a Hatzalah paramedic

Mechina students volunteering with agricultural businesses in coronavirus crisis. Zamir: “Above all, a mechina educates young people about answering the call, commitment to the Jewish people, and commitment to Israeli society”

In light of the spread of the coronavirus and the directives of Israel’s Ministry of Health, the Joint Council of Mechinot is launching an online database of lessons from the mechinot

The students of Mechinat Hadar offer mass applause as a gesture of gratitude: “Thank you to our amazing medical workers who are working around the clock. It’s great to see how united the nation is even in this difficult time!”

Not long ago, women’s mechinot, such as Tzahali and Lapidot, were mainly for young religious women getting ready to serve in the IDF. In recent years, though, a number of non-Orthodox mechinot have answered the challenge, too. In honor of Women’s Day 2020, a mechina director and a mechina head explain why they chose to offer a single-sex mechina experience

Over 150 individuals attended this weekend’s event to hear about available positions at whole-year and half-year mechinot. Shifroni: “The backbone of social struggles that mechina alumni join is made up of dedicated mechina alumni who returned as counselors”

Ignoring the fissures in Israeli society, she decided in a moment of inspiration to launch a far-reaching project of exposure to Israelis’ different models of Shabbat. Two years later, armed with a big smile, Tifferet Oryah is processing the powerful experience she arranged for herself, finishing a book about the experience, and preparing an intimate lecture about her journey

Who are the IDF’s new officers?

An introductory conference for Be’Artzeinu’s Kerem Shalom project was held last Thursday with the participation of Dr. Yoaz Hendel.

The seminar’s over. A bunch of amazing guys and girls who got together and came up with a crazy unique shared space … We all left with energy and tools to set out on a life of doing great things. There are amazing alumni. When they sit together a bit, they can dream, ground themselves, build confidence, and understand that when there are others to work with, incredible things happen …

Some 40 alumni coordinators from Orthodox, secular, and traditional mechinot came together for a midyear conference highlighting the civil service.

More than 300 young Israeli men and women participated in a conference organized by Be’Artzeinu, the Mechina Alumni Community-Building Project, with the participation of Mateh Asher mayor Yoram Israeli and KKL chairman Danny Atar.

Last night, a historic event took place at Mechinat Tzahali: the launch of the first ever halakhic guidebook for religious women in the IDF. The book, Shalom Becheileich, was authored by Rabbi Eli Reiff, who has taught at Tzahali for the past eight years.