Another almost legendary enterprise of the pioneering Zionist movement has fallen victim to the march of time. The last of the Nachal outposts, Nachal Maskiot in the northern Jordan Valley, closed down for good at the end of last year. Ynet, reporting on the phenomenon, notes that the unique Nachal program in the IDF, which integrated military combat service and settlement of the land, appears to have lost its attraction among today\'s newly-enlisting soldiers.
Pioneering youth of the past decades established many Nachal outposts in border areas, both working the land and protecting it. These efforts formed the basis for what would later become civilian communities in every sense. The first such town, Nachal Oz, adjacent to the Gaza Strip, was established in 1951, and was followed by dozens of others in the Galilee, Aravah, and Negev. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Nachal outposts were also built in the Jordan Valley, the Golan, the Sinai, and even a few in Judea and Samaria. Present-day towns that started out in this manner include Kibbutz Beit HaAravah, Ashbel, Negohot, and Rechelim.
A senior IDF Personnel officer told Ynet, \"Fortunately or not, the best of our youth opts for three years of combat service; if someone wants to contribute in a concrete manner, he\'ll do another year of voluntary service… The settlement ideal has lost some of its glow, and there are not enough youth who wish to spend part of their army service in a Nachal outpost.\" He noted that there are \"urban core groups\" in the army that live together in cities and perform voluntary community service - \"but they usually prefer cities such as Netanya and Karmiel, and not those that need them more, such as Hadera and Akko.\"
Pioneering youth of the past decades established many Nachal outposts in border areas, both working the land and protecting it. These efforts formed the basis for what would later become civilian communities in every sense. The first such town, Nachal Oz, adjacent to the Gaza Strip, was established in 1951, and was followed by dozens of others in the Galilee, Aravah, and Negev. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Nachal outposts were also built in the Jordan Valley, the Golan, the Sinai, and even a few in Judea and Samaria. Present-day towns that started out in this manner include Kibbutz Beit HaAravah, Ashbel, Negohot, and Rechelim.
A senior IDF Personnel officer told Ynet, \"Fortunately or not, the best of our youth opts for three years of combat service; if someone wants to contribute in a concrete manner, he\'ll do another year of voluntary service… The settlement ideal has lost some of its glow, and there are not enough youth who wish to spend part of their army service in a Nachal outpost.\" He noted that there are \"urban core groups\" in the army that live together in cities and perform voluntary community service - \"but they usually prefer cities such as Netanya and Karmiel, and not those that need them more, such as Hadera and Akko.\"