The Intelligence Directorate of the IDF continues to draw lessons from the October 7th massacre, and has initiated a wide-scale change in training perception.
Galei Tzahal reports that all soldiers and officers of the directorate will be required to study Arabic and Islam, even if their position does not necessarily require knowledge of the language.
As part of the program, a dedicated department for teaching Islam and Arabic will be established within the training system. The new department will train not only translators and radio operators but also intelligence researchers, with the aim of ensuring that every brigade and division intelligence officer knows Arabic at a high level and understands the Islamic cultural world in depth.
Arabic and Islam studies will be integrated from the pre-enlistment phase (prior to military service) in educational preparatory programs, and will continue in basic and advanced training for officers and permanent personnel. The set goal: within the next year, 100% of intelligence personnel will undergo training in the field of Islam, and 50% will also learn Arabic.
Another initiative includes the reopening of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies Promotion, which was closed six years ago due to budget cuts. The department, operating under Unit 8200, is expected to resume promoting educational initiatives in schools, including programs like the "Middle Eastern Cadet Course", aiming to strengthen Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at an early age.
Additionally, special courses in Houthi and Iraqi dialects have been opened. Intelligence explained that the main challenge in listening to the Houthis stems, among other things, from the use of the herb qat. Considered a drug in some parts of the world, it can cause inflammation or cancer of the mouth, which complicates understanding the speaker. To address this, teachers and researchers from relevant communities have been recruited to provide authentic and in-depth training.
A senior officer in intelligence told IDF Radio, "Until today, we were not good enough in culture, language, and Islam. We need to improve in these areas. We cannot transform intelligence soldiers and officers into Arab children who grew up in a village, but through learning the language and culture, we can instill in them critical thinking and deep observation".