By: Ryan Jones – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il
“Our young Christians will improve their Hebrew and get to know the Jews, and vice versa. We are building the next Israeli generation.”
Significant army service is a big deal in Israel. So much so that many young Israeli Jews will postpone their mandatory conscription for one year after high school in order to attend a pre-military preparatory training camp, to make sure they are as prepared as possible.
Already years ago, Maj. (res.) Shadi Khalloul, a regular contributor to Israel Today, recognized that the key to greater Christian integration into Israeli society was encouraging young Christians to volunteer for military service. Israel’s minorities are not required to join the Jews in physically defending the State of Israel, but many, like the Druze, Bedouins and a growing number of Christians, are choosing to do so.
But these Christians are starting even further behind, if you will, than teenage Israeli Jews. So a pre-military preparatory course was seen as essential.
This year marks the seventh in which the “Kinneret” pre-military preparatory training camp put on by the Israeli Christian Aramaic Association (ICAA) has brought together young Christians and not a few young Jews to prepare for significant IDF service, together.
cont’d…