# Education and Youth Corps

The Education and Youth Corps (Hebrew: חיל החינוך והנוער, Heil HaHinuh VeHaNo'ar) is a corps of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) Personnel Directorate responsible for the education of IDF personnel. Its mission purpose it to instruct and develop "national values" among Israeli servicemembers.

## Goal and designation

According to former Chief Education Officer Avner Shalev, the aims of the education system in the IDF are to increase the motivation and morale of the troops and units. This is achieved by introducing cultural activities into the lives of soldiers, teaching them about the country and its values—both national and universal—as well as by teaching them about the nature of their duties as soldiers and citizens of the state.

## Structure

The Education and Youth Corps is divided into two main brigades - the Magen division and the education division - as well as 6 independent units directly subordinate to the Chief Education Officer:
* The Jerusalem College
* Planning and organization branch
* Education and youth training base (בה"ד החינוך והנוער‎, Bahad HaHinukh VeHaNo'ar)
* The School for Leadership (בית הספר למנהיגות‎, Beit HaSefer LeManhigut, abbr. Bislam)
* The army weekly magazine Bamahane
* Israeli Army Radio (גלי צה"ל‎, Galei Tzahal, abbr. Galatz)

### Magen division

The Magen (an abbreviation for Morot-Hayalot (teacher soldiers), Makam, Gadna and Nahal), comprises four IDF education programs:
* Mak'am (an abbreviation for Merkaz Kidum Ukhlusiyot Meyuhadot - Center for the Advancement of Special Population Groups), a program initiated by Rafael Eitan to call up and support soldiers who would otherwise not be called up, such as those with serious educational deficiencies (lack of compulsory education), long criminal histories, etc. These are termed 'adaptation problems' in the IDF, and those with a rating of 40-60 are considered Mak'am youth. The Mak'am base is called Havat HaShomer and located in the north of the country, and trains those Mak'am youth with the most serious problems.
* Teacher soldiers, a program to train soldiers to become teachers in the civilian sector.
* Gadna, short paramilitary training programs for high school youth. The Gadna program has 3 such training bases - Tzalmon in the north, Ju'ara in the center, and Sde Boker in the south of the country.
* Nahal Nucleus (גרעין נח"ל‎, Gar'in Nahal), another pre-military-age program.
Mihve Alon, a training base for new immigrants not proficient in the Hebrew language, is also subordinate to the Magen division.

### Education division

The education division serves as the professional guide for the other units of the corps, and of the IDF in general. It is divided into 6 branches:
* Mak'am branch
* Education and Hasbara branch
* Culture branch
* Aliyah branch
* Arm and corps branch
* Moriah branch

## Education and youth training base

The Education and youth training base, or by its name Sha'arei Avraham (Abraham's gates) was built near the Re'em Junction in the Lachish Valley near Kiryat Mal'akhi.
Many of the soldiers in various roles in the Education Corps get their training in the Youth Education Training Base.
Among these roles:
* Mashakit Hod מש"קית הו"ד - teaching and command NCO
* Madan Merhav and Basis מד"ן מרחב ובסיס - a youth guide in the base and region
* Mashakit Hinukh מש"קית חינוך - education NCO
* Mashakit Aliya מש"קית עלייה - immigration NCO
* Military ensemble
* Museum guides
* The teacher-soldiers who are also a part of the Education Corps don't get their training in the Youth Education Training Base, but in a civic seminary called Ramot Shapira, which is in moshav Beit Meir, next to Jerusalem. this is a result of the "lending agreement" with the Education Minister of Israel.

## Insignia

The emblem of the Education and Youth Corps is composed of four stripes integrating into one flame.
Three of them (different shades of blue) represent the three different centers of the corps and the fourth (colored white) represents the headquarters of the corps.

## Chief officers

| Name | Years as chief officer | Comments |
| Lieutenant Colonel Yosef Karib | 1948–1950 | |
| Colonel Aharon Ze'ev | 1950–1963 | |
| Colonel Mordechai Bar-On | 1963–1968 | former Knesset member |
| Brigadier General Yitzhak Arad | 1968–1972 | Director of Yad Vashem, 1972 - 1993 |
| Brigadier General Shaul Givoli | 1972–1975 | |
| Brigadier General Amir Betsal'el | 1975–1977 | |
| Brigadier General Avner Shalev | 1977–1979 | current Director of Yad Vashem |
| Brigadier General Avraham Zohar | 1979–1982 | |
| Brigadier General Josef Eldar | 1982–1985 | |
| Brigadier General Nehemya Dagan | 1985–1988 | |
| Brigadier General Ehud Gross | 1988–1991 | |
| Brigadier General Shalom Ben Moshe | 1991–1995 | |
| Brigadier General Evrham Asha'hal | 1995–1997 | |
| Brigadier General Ran Glika | 1997–1999 | |
| Major General Elazar Stern | 1999–2004 | later, also head of the Human Resources Directorate |
| Brigadier General Ilan Harari | 2004–2007 | |
| Brigadier General Eli Shermeister | 2007–2013 | |
| Brigadier General Avner Paz Tzuk | 2013–2017 | |
| Brigadier General Tzvika Freizen | 2017-2020 | |
| Brigadier General Ophir Levios | 2020- | |