About 550 teens from across Israel took part this week in a special day of activities conducted by the Yedidim organization.
The students are part of Yedidim’s “circles of responsibility” program, a pre-military program aimed at providing guidance to religious high school students for a meaningful service in the IDF. The program is one of many programs run by Yedidim in 70 communities across the country.
As part of the program students discuss, throughout the school year, ethical issues relating to military service and undergo a physical and mental preparation course which prepares them to meet the challenges of a military service. At the same time, students volunteer and help the needy.
Yedidim, which means ‘friends’ in Hebrew, works with youth from troubled families and connects them with adult volunteers who have already completed their army service. The older ‘friends’ work with the youth, study with them and provide them with additional values to what they learn in school.
The idea behind this week’s program, according to coordinator Mordy Berlin, is “to give them an overview of the army so when they come to the army they know a little bit about it.”
“The program encourages them to join a good unit in the IDF,” he added.