The first group of yeshiva students enlisted today (Sunday) in a unique course to train IDF welfare officers aiming to reduce gaps and provide a tailored response for soldiers serving from the haredi community.
The course is held with full gender separation, observing the haredi way of life, and is intended to train welfare officers who will come from within the haredi community and be able to provide precise, rapid, and sensitive responses to the unique challenges of the haredi servicemember in the IDF, especially regarding service conditions and family payments.
Course participants will undergo professional training lasting about a month, and upon completion, they will be assigned across the units where haredi servicemembers are located, providing personal guidance and professional assistance for soldiers from all haredi streams.
The initiative is part of a broader model led by the Ma'alot Tzur association, and according to an association official, "This move is part of a broad approach that we are leading. We understood that in order for a haredi servicemember to be able to focus on service, he must have peace of mind regarding the household finances."
He added, "Until today, there was a real difficulty in bridging the gaps with the regular military system that did not always recognize our unique complexities. The shift to haredi welfare officers from within the community is an extraordinary step that changes the rules of the game - it guarantees professional, sensitive and quick treatment, and provides a supportive framework that also includes ensuring payment from the first day for new joiners."
