IDF: Hundreds of immigrants without Hebrew in combat units
Commander cites safety issues, including failing to cease fire following an order due to misunderstanding.
By Anshel Pfeffer Tags: Israel immigration Israel news IDFHundreds of new immigrants are serving in combat units even though they don't know enough Hebrew, commanders and officers in the Israel Defense Forces Education Corps say.
Every year, the IDF inducts thousands of new immigrants who have been in Israel for only a few months. The army conducts two types of courses for immigrants who have been inducted for the full three years: Soldiers with a reasonable knowledge of Hebrew take a three-week course, which includes lessons about the army, Zionism, Jewish and Israeli history and Hebrew. Soldiers who know less Hebrew take a three-month course that also includes language studies.
At the end of the course, the recruits take a test, but failing doesn't keep them out of combat units.
An Education Corps officer said that while the course was a good one, "due to the need to deal simultaneously with getting drafted, an unfamiliar place, being without family and having problems at home, and in addition, learning a new language, many people finish the course with a low level of Hebrew."
Nefesh B'Nefesh, which helps bring thousands of new immigrants from Britain and North America every year, including hundreds of soldiers, advises newcomers to learn Hebrew before they join the army.
"These are very motivated soldiers," an infantry brigade commander said. "But we've had quite a few cases of safety issues when they did not hear the command to cease fire and had a bullet in the chamber because they thought that was the order."
"We went out on ambush with a soldier who hardly spoke Hebrew," a soldier in a combat unit said. "When we got back, we discovered he had been walking behind us with a loaded machine gun. He could have sprayed us at any moment. He simply didn't understand the order," the soldier said.
In at least one case, an infantry brigade decided to return new immigrant soldiers to the Education Corps to improve their Hebrew.
New immigrants between the ages of 21 and 25, who serve in the army for six months, receive two months of basic training, which also includes language studies. One commander said his unit received several of these soldiers to serve as drivers. "I didn't let them serve in the territories because they didn't know the language well enough to read maps or signs, and might mistakenly enter a Palestinian area," he said.
In response, the IDF said, "The task of absorbing new immigrants and teaching them Hebrew is of national importance, and the IDF has taken upon itself to play a role. The Education and Youth Corps invests much energy in this area."
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Back in the day girls like me were language teachers in the IDF - it was a decent program and Hebrew was considered critical. "Orphan soldiers" were assigned host families usually on kibbutzim, and spent months learning Hebrew in ulpanim. What happened?
Surely it's in the IDF's interest to allow people to finish their Hebrew studies at Ulpan, isn't it? For the couple of extra months it takes, it would seem to me to be a worthwhile sacrifice to make (even it means reducing the recruits' service periods) if it might reduce the chance of dangerous misunderstandings.
...the Russian and Ukrainian hooligans and mobsters, which under false "jewish" pretexts have moved to the Jewish state Israel ? Pls - an explanation who they are ?
just create a foreign legion and be done with it . there will be tens of thousands of happy volunteers from all over the world
Just as Zack (but 32 years ago), I was one of these soldiers in a combat unit. It's really not a big deal: you need only a limited vocabulary to fulfill your (not very sophisticated) role; after a couple of weeks myself and a couple of other "Russians" in my unit knew enough to function.
The art of understanding and the ability to communicate between peoples -is the history of the world . Enginners -Builders , Super Markets Police Schools -we all need to share the same meanings -dictionarys -translations -google - blueprints -plans -designs -See how important ! OK one day with over 100 soldiers on a hillside during an army exercise and down below on the road the " ENEMY" a bush fire started. One of the soldiers YELLED FIRE - Yes soldiers opened fire with live ammunition !!!!! Ben -Gurion airport chat between ground crew and airline in-flight pilots, in English -when neither have a command of the language -guess what happens !!!!!! HAL.[ the above are true genuine events that occurred ]
As one of the immigrant soldiers this article speaks of, I can attest to the fact that there are some soldiers who do not know enough Hebrew in combat units. The problem lies with the system, not with the soldiers themselves, they are incredibly motivated and want to contribute as much as they can. I myself learned Hebrew in the longer course, and today I feel that I am fluent in Hebrew and can read and write. The problem lies with the test in the end of the course, it is not a prerequisite to getting into a combat unit, if you fail the test, nothing will really happen to you. The problem is with the entire Army system, when they socially promote soldiers who aren't ready to go into combat units. I have seen from my experience that so many of these combat units are so greatly undermanned once it gets past the training level, they start just accepting people to fill spaces, no matter what their issues. This is an issue that the army really needs to deal with as soon as possible.
being vocally insubordinate ! These must be the kind of volunteers Barak wants, those who cant talk back, at least in Hebrew ! Insubordination ? At least in this unique instance 'mums' the correct word !
Oh come on...what about political correctness...look at the US-we have bi-lingual, so why not Israel??? If there are any problems just use sign language or give them a short dictionary. Remember the Torah story about the Tower of Babel?
...if I suggested spending just a wee bit more time on the "cease fire" thingy?
Make an English battalion, morons! Absorb them at a safe, slow pace while they serve. When IDF train with NATO, do they expect NATO to learn Hebrew too?