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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Israel
Index
The Youth Corps (Gdudei Noar--Gadna), another IDF "functional
command," consisted in 1988 of more than 30,000 young men and women
aged fourteen to seventeen, who were formed into battalions, each
under the command of an IDF captain. One of numerous youth groups,
Gadna was administered by the Ministry of Education and Culture,
with IDF officers serving as advisers to the ministry. Obligatory
for most secondary-school students, Gadna introduced them to the
common Israeli experience of army life and indoctrinated them as to
Israel's special security situation. Time spent in training
increased from fifteen days yearly plus one hour per week during
the ninth year of school to roughly forty days a year in the
twelfth year of school. Over the years, its emphasis had shifted
from weapons familiarity and drilling to sports, physical fitness,
and camping. Gadna also participated in the socialization of recent
immigrants and the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents to
qualify them for military service. It had not been mobilized for
military tasks since the War of Independence in 1948, although
Gadna members had performed support services during later
emergencies.
Data as of December 1988
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