Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman visited the Michve Alon army base on Tuesday, a base near the northern city of Tsfat which provides courses for lone soldiers - the term for soldiers without families in Israel - immigrant soldiers, and soldiers with special needs.
Liberman met with the base commanders, the instructors, and the soldiers who participate in the courses offered at the base. He heard about the various places the soldiers come from, including the countries of the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, the United States, and France, among others.
The Defense Minister also attended a class on national identity given to a group of soldiers.
During his visit, Liberman said that the activities being carried out at Michve Alon are the Zionist Movement's greatest contribution to the strengthening of the IDF and of the State of Israel."
"Unlike the way the rest of the world operates," Liberman said, "in Israel, if the IDF would not be the people's army, there would be no army and the State of Israel could not exist."
Along with Liberman, the visit included Major General Hagai Topolansky, IDF education chief Avner Paz-Tzuk, and Michve Alon Base Commander Raz Karni.