Mechinat Reut

Mechinat Reut

Mechinat Reut is a half-year pre-military academy (Mechina) of the kibbutz Movement and HeChalutz movement, located in Oranim, Yehiam and Rosh Hanikra in the Western Galilee. The educational process of the Mechina combines a significant group experience, in-depth learning about Israeli society, leadership, and experience in social action.

Reut pre-military academy (Mechina) is intended for high school graduates from all over the country and strives to create a diverse group, composed of all levels of Israeli society, and to encounter different classes, regions, and cultures. The goal of the Mechina is to break the boundaries of the “tribes” in Israeli society and to find a common value base for discussion and action. The mechina creates a cohesive and active group towards Israeli society, which sees itself committed to correction of the state and the creation of an exemplary society.

Duration of the program 6 months – from the beginning of September to the end of February. Participants experience the kibbutz experience and connect to a small, cohesive community. The preparatory course includes weeks of study and volunteering and many weeks of seminars and educational trips in various areas of the country. In addition, several weeks out of the Mechina are devoted to group work, to fund it independently and collaboratively.

The program is aimed at leading young people from all over the country, especially from the social or geographical periphery, from communities that are less likely to attend pre-military programs naturally.

The bases on which Mechinat Reut rests are:

  • Group: When we say group in “Hechalutz”, we mean a group that deals with the design of a common space, which empowers all its members while constantly trying to improve as individuals, works together and creates a joint social action. In addition to being friends and partners in the apartment, the group members are partners in shaping a worldview and trying to fulfill it. The group in the preparatory program is guided by instructors who have experienced group life for themselves, and the participants receive close personal and group guidance.
  • Education: Classes at the Reut pre-military academy (Mechina) are taught by talented lecturers, on various topics such as economics and society, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jewish identity, gender, sexuality, and more. The curriculum is diverse and experiential and combines tours, seminars, and meetings with key figures in Israeli society.
  • Volunteering: As part of the preparatory program, participants volunteer once a week in three areas: educational frameworks (schools, youth clubs, kindergartens), frameworks for special populations (people with special needs, the elderly, etc.), and agriculture.
  • Joint management: each trainee is involved in a different team, that manages the common areas of life in the Mechina, from cultural and leisure life to food and maintenance. We believe in the ability of our participants and think that in order to develop leadership skills, the participants must have actual experience in managing the Mechina.

Mechinat Reut is a relatively new pre-military academy, which is shaping and building its character while moving. Participation in the preparatory course requires motivation, commitment, and hard work along with maturing, forming a worldview, developing a value scale, getting to know yourself and your society. The participants will be expecting an intense and enriching social experience, and at the end they will become true friends for life. It is a half year of experiences, challenges, encounters, preparation for meaningful military service, and development of independence.

The educational process in the Mechina is characterized by dealing with identity, with all its components: Jewish, Israeli, Zionist, gender, family, and more. During the preparatory course, participants ask themselves: Who am I? Where do I belong? What do I identify with? What is my connection to the land of Israel, to the people of Israel, and to the State of Israel? The Mechina is intensively engaged in trying to clarify these questions and even provide answers on the way to becoming a mature, active, meaningful, and contributing person in Israeli society.

Graduates of the mechina are accompanied as a group during military service, by an instructor.

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