by Ohad Merlin
Ma’oz Ha’erez (Stronghold of the Cedar), a new mixed mechina in northern Israel, works to strengthen Israeli identity and weave ties between groups in Israeli society.
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A new institute is reimagining how Druze and Jewish youth can serve and live together. In a groundbreaking initiative that challenges deep-seated societal divides, the Ma'oz Ha'erez Mechina (preparatory institute), under Rashi Foundation’s Merkaz Maase NGO, is building new bridges and creating new pacts of life between the two groups. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Khalil Ayob, the institute's head, revealed the profound vision behind this pioneering program that promises to transform military service and social integration.
Established earlier this year, the mechina emerged from a pivotal realization within the Israeli Intelligence Corps (AMAN). "The October 7th events starkly highlighted a significant intelligence gap," Ayob explained. "We desperately needed more Arabic speakers who could truly understand the complex cultural nuances of our strategic environment."
Ayob continued: “The intelligence community has played a pivotal role in the mechina's development. Military leaders recognized a critical need to diversify and strengthen intelligence capabilities, particularly in understanding complex regional dynamics. By creating a preparatory program that combines rigorous academic preparation with cultural exchange, they've developed an innovative approach to recruitment and training.”
The institute bears a powerful namesake, as it is named after Sergeant Major Mahmoud Khair Al-Din, a fallen Druze IDF commander who fell during a heroic operation inside the Gaza Strip in 2018, and whose legacy extends far beyond his military service. "This is not a military program, but an educational journey with strategic military elements," Ayob emphasized. “Khair Al-Din was more than a brilliant fighter; he was an educator who passionately believed in preparing Druze youth for meaningful military service while simultaneously creating profound connections between different community groups in Israel.”
Educating for learning and understanding
The program's core objectives are deliberately multifaceted and transformative. "We have four primary goals," Ayob articulated with conviction. “These include comprehensively educating participants about the “Spirit of the IDF” ethical codes (“Ruach Tzahal”), enhancing linguistic capabilities, improving personal resilience and identity, and most critically, promoting deep cross-cultural understanding.”
The mechina, located at the Hodayot youth village in the Galilee, currently boasts 36 participants, though it is about to go through a process of an extensive expansion, with 60 students in the next year, and looking to expand to 90 in the year after that.
It was initially conceived as an exclusively Druze program but rapidly evolving to boast a mix of both Druze and Jewish youth, reflecting a deliberate diversification which reflects the mechina’s commitment to genuine integration. “Beyond immediate military service, the program ambitiously aims to create broader social impact,” Ayob continued. “We want to introduce participants to all communities in Israel - not just Druze and Jewish, but also Circassians, Bedouins, and Arab Israelis. Our ultimate goal is to foster recognition, appreciation, and genuine tolerance."
Participants engage in three educational axes: a military-intelligence curriculum delivered, an educational-values oriented track, and a nuanced linguistic track where Jewish participants learn Arabic while Druze participants simultaneously strengthen their Hebrew skills.
“The language track is a bit more complex,” Ayob added with a smile, “as some Druze actually want to enhance their Modern Standard Arabic, while some Jews whose family is Syrian are actually looking to improve their Hebrew skills, so all in all we have four different language programs.”
Daily life at the mechina at the institute serves as a powerful testament to their commitment to cohabitation. During Sukkot, participants from both groups collaboratively constructed a communal sukkah, while instead of a standard work week, the group chose to engage in a traditional Druze olive harvest - a quintessential Druze cultural activity - producing kosher olive oil while immersing themselves in each other's cultural experiences.
“The first Friday morning the students were hiking the fallen Druze soldiers trail, and then they came back straight to Shabbat preparations, with some curious Druze participants going to see their Jewish friends pray for the first time. It was a very special event,” Ayob added.
These first meetings may also create some inherent and understandable tensions at first. "We've encountered and navigated numerous cultural challenges," Ayob candidly shared. "Sometimes it's simple misunderstandings - like a Druze participant inadvertently using a dairy toaster for a meat sandwich, or a Jewish student telling a joke that is not at all acceptable in Druze society. But these moments become profound opportunities for mutual learning, respect, and genuine understanding, and the group usually solves them with constructive dialogue, and even mutual lectures."
From skeptics to proud ambassadors
The mechina represents a complex collaboration between multiple entities: Merkaz Ma'ase NGO for the promotion of youth in the periphery, which operates under the Rashi Foundation; the Intelligence Corps; and the IDF's Population Management Department, which is entrusted with opening doors and creating opportunities for non-Jewish populations in the IDF. The Hodayot Youth Village, despite being a religious institution, has also courageously opened its doors to host the mechina.
Avi Michaeli, the partnership manager at Merkaz Ma'ase, the NGO which oversees the mechina, provided crucial context about the broader social landscape. "Druze youth in the periphery have historically faced significantly fewer educational and employment opportunities," he explained. “So for them, the program represents a strategic intervention designed to create meaningful social and economic mobility for youth from marginalized communities.
The program has already demonstrated remarkable, tangible results. "The military sometimes provides an opportunity and receives something transformative in return," Michaeli noted. “Many participants are now positioning themselves for prestigious roles in intelligence units where Druze representation has historically been limited.”
Michaeli continued: “Parents, initially skeptical, have become enthusiastic supporters and proud ambassadors. Fathers with whom we spoke were deeply impressed and became genuine advocates, while mothers now speak with pride about their children developing confidence and a broader understanding of their national identity.”
The program's success is rooted in its holistic approach to youth development. Each participant undergoes a comprehensive preparation process that goes far beyond traditional military readiness. "We're not just preparing soldiers," Ayob added, "we're cultivating future leaders who understand the complexity of Israeli society."
Financial support and community engagement have been crucial to the mechina's success. As mentioned earlier, the mechina plans an ambitious expansion, with intentions to double or triple their intake in the coming years. For this reason the mechina has leveraged a tax-exempt crowdfunding campaign to expand its reach, with local communities increasingly viewing it as a model of social integration.
“The mechina represents far more than a preparatory program,” Ayob elaborated. “It is a sophisticated social experiment in coexistence. By deliberately bringing together young Druze and Jewish participants, we are systematically challenging preconceptions and building authentic understanding, all in parallel to creating better soldiers, more immersed in their strategic environment.
Ayob continued, with evident pride and emotion: "These are extraordinary young people, brilliant minds, learning together, preparing together - and the connection is truly transformative."
"The whole is genuinely greater than the sum of its parts," Michaeli reflected, attempting to describe the essence of the mechina. “The mechina represents what I call social repair,” Michaeli added. “A healing of educational and societal fractures for the shared blossoming of our next generations.”
Dani Valal, Maase’s CEO, also added: “The mechina is not just a preparation for the army, it is an educational program that touches and changes reality in the relationship between Jews and Druze and vice versa. We are devoting ourselves to bettering the feelings of those people who contributed and sacrificed their best for our country, and who live with a sense of inequality. For years we have lived under a slogan of a ‘blood covenant’ between Jews and Druze, and in our actions we aim for a covenant of shared life. Together in the mechina, in the military service and later on - they will be the messengers for the repairing and shaping of our society.”
As the first cohort of participants continues their journey, they carry with them the potential to reshape not just military intelligence, but the very fabric of Israeli society. Each shared meal, each collaborative project, each moment of cultural exchange becomes a small act of nation-building - subtle, yet profound. And as Israel continues to navigate increasingly complex social and geopolitical dynamics, initiatives like Ma'oz Ha'erez offer a compelling vision of hope. By focusing on shared goals, mutual respect, and genuine dialogue, these young participants are writing a narrative of partnership, understanding, and collective purpose.
Ma’oz Ha’erez’s JGive campaign can be found here (The donation is recognized for tax deduction in Israel and the US).
Ohad Merlin
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-832168
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