Military Academies Program Returned

The ninth JINSA military Academies Program in Israel has returned to the U.S. Twenty-seven cadets and midshipmen, three officers, and two history professors spent three weeks working, studying and meeting the IDF under the auspices of JINSA. It was an opportunity for these future leaders of the U.S. military establishment to see the Israel behind the headlines, learn about the complexities of the Middle East, and enjoy themselves.

The ninth JINSA military Academies Program in Israel has returned to the U.S. Twenty-seven cadets and midshipmen, three officers, and two history professors spent three weeks working, studying and meeting the IDF under the auspices of JINSA. It was an opportunity for these future leaders of the U.S. military establishment to see the Israel behind the headlines, learn about the complexities of the Middle East, and enjoy themselves. The highlight was an informal visit with Israel’s president Ezer Weizman at his official residence in Jerusalem.

Based in Jerusalem, the group toured the city ‘s holy sites, the Jerusalem Museum, Yad Vashem, Ammunition Hill, Yitzhak Rabin’s grave, and the Western Wall Tunnel. They visited the Knesset, where they met with parliamentarians including Dr. Uzi Landau, Chairman of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee. They also met with an assistant to the Mayor of Jerusalem, representatives of the Palestinian Authority, and Dr. Dore Gold, advisor to the Prime Minister. As part of their study, the group heard lectures including “The Unique Character of Israel,” “Introduction to the IDF,” “The IDF in a Changing Middle East,” “History of the Holocaust,” and “Religion, Nation, Home.”

The group spent a week on Kibbutz Bet Ha’emek where, as they have in the past, they worked, participated in kibbutz life, and traveled to sites in the Galilee including Capernaum, the Mt. of Beatitudes and the Sea of Galilee. A two-day trip across northern Israel, the Lebanese border and the Golan Heights gave them a first hand look at a region of enormous security importance for Israel.

They visited the Naval Base at Haifa, an airbase and an Army Officers Training Center. In each place they took advantage of opportunities to meet young Israeli officers and compare the similarities and differences of their military experiences. They visited the Latrun Armor Memorial with its wall modeled on the Vietnam Memorial, and the USO, which provides services to tens of thousands of American soldiers and sailors who visit Israel every year.

Nature programs in the Banias, Montfort, and Nahal Kziv; an archaeological dig at Bet Guvrun; hiking in the Negev desert; and trips to Masada and the Dead Sea rounded out the experience.

It has been JINSA’s experience that providing young American officers with a positive, in-depth experience in Israel helps to correct many mistaken impressions they have about Israel, Israeli society and the problems of the Middle East. They return to their academies with increased understanding and interest in a volatile and important part of the world.