GOC Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni announced recently that soldiers in the ultra-Orthodox battalion of the Nahal infantry brigade, a branch of the Israel Defense Forces which combines military and voluntary civilian service, would soon begin defending the Jenin line. This is the first time soldiers in the battalion will engage in operational activities in this area. Since the battalion was created, nine years ago, its soldiers have served only in the Jordan Valley.
Many times in the past, and especially during the second intifada, many members of the Netzah Yehuda battalion, expressed a desire to serve on a more dynamic and challenging front, but their requests were rejected. Yet during their ongoing activities in the Jordan Valley, soldiers in the battalion successfully thwarted numerous smuggling and terror attempts.
Shamni visited the battalion last week to witness the soldiers' achievements at close range and to observe them in training exercises supervised by the Kfir brigade. This came in response to recent evidence of the soldiers' professional mettle - they even took first place in a target practice and marksmanship competition among IDF combat units. In his discussion with the soldiers, Shamni informed them that in a number of months, after completing a series of scheduled training exercises, they would be transferred to the Jenin area, where they would hold the line.
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Members of the GOC Central Command explain this move bears witness to their level of training and the extent to which they have earned the general's esteem. "After nine years, we can say with great satisfaction that the battalion is capable of implementing any combat mission which it is asked to carry out. The people of Israel can be proud of these soldiers," Rabbi Tzvi Klebanow, director of the Netzah Yehuda Nahal nonprofit yesterday.
The battalion enlists ultra-Orthodox youth who are not studying in yeshivas. About 2,500 young ultra-Orthodox men have enlisted in the battalion to date, and members of the IDF human resources department recently said they intend to open another battalion in 2010 to meet the growing demand of ultra-Orthodox youth to serve in a battalion of this type.
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