The Philatelic Service will issue a new stamp next week dedicated to the Jubilee anniversary of the hesder yeshivot enterprise in Israel. Students at these institutions choose to enter a five-year program after high school, in which they combine compulsory military service with yeshiva studies. The first such yeshiva was Kerem B'Yavneh, founded in late 1953. Some 36 such institutions have been established since 1967, including in Kiryat Shmonah, Eilat, Gush Katif, Sderot, and elsewhere.
The hesder enterprise received the Israel Prize in 1991 for "their unique implementation of the Zionist vision... following the destruction of the Torah centers in Europe. The yeshiva students, who are dispersed throughout the country, and especially in outlying and development towns, are well integrated wherever they are, while fulfilling all their obligations towards the State. The hesder students excelled in their military service [and] manifest study and fulfillment of the Torah of Israel together with settling the Land of Israel and with love for the Nation of Israel."
The hesder enterprise received the Israel Prize in 1991 for "their unique implementation of the Zionist vision... following the destruction of the Torah centers in Europe. The yeshiva students, who are dispersed throughout the country, and especially in outlying and development towns, are well integrated wherever they are, while fulfilling all their obligations towards the State. The hesder students excelled in their military service [and] manifest study and fulfillment of the Torah of Israel together with settling the Land of Israel and with love for the Nation of Israel."