YBA AT A GLANCE
63 Schools, 22,000 Students, 60,000 Alumni
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YBA schools are pioneers in achieving educational excellence while successfully integrating students from all economic backgrounds, Sephardim and Ashkenazim, Russian and Ethiopian olim.
All YBA schools maintain an open enrollment policy – no child is turned away due to the parents’ inability to pay tuition; nearly 50% of YBA students receive full or partial scholarship.
The mission of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva is to train Israel’s next generation of leaders, steeped in Jewish learning while totally involved in modern Israeli society.
YESHIVOT BNEI AKIVA – FAITHFULLY SERVING THE JEWISH PEOPLE
AND THE STATE OF ISRAEL
Click here of read more about Who We Are.
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YESHIVAT HESDER SOLDIERS REPORT
FROM THE FRONT
Cpl. Aharon A. (21), YBA Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dekalim, Ashdod, IDF Tank Corp, Southern Command:
“Our tank entered Gaza on the first night of the ground operation and stayed in the strip for 20 days straight. We literally lived inside the tank 24/7, only pulling back every other day for a 3-4 hour break outside the tank to shower, eat a cooked meal and reload the tank with shells and supplies. We were positioned outside the Zaitun neighborhood of Gaza City. Our job was to prevent Hamas moving military supplies into the area and to provide cover fire for our infantry troops. We fired hundreds of rounds during the war, always directed by our ground troops through the radio to pinpoint the exact source of enemy fire.
Over 120 soldiers from 8 YBA Yeshivot Hesder saw action in Gaza |
“Our tank crew was a diverse group; we had a commander from Tel Aviv, a gunner from Kfar Yona, a Druze driver, and me, a yeshiva boy from Jerusalem. The experience was amazing. I was most impressed that despite our differences, we all got along just fine for 20 days – eating, sleeping and battling together side by side inside the tank. On Shabbat I recited the Kiddush and shared the challot with the crew. We sang together and talked about the parasha. At the end of Shabbat we went outside the tank and recited the Kiddush Levana together, and then we sang and danced with unbelievable joy! Even the Druze driver joined in – it was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Sgt. (res.) Boaz A. (25), YBA Yeshivat Hesder Ruach Tzfonit Kollel, Akko, IDF Armored Infantry, Southern Command:
“My reserve unit was called up for duty on the first day of the ground operation in Gaza. After a week of training, our unit entered the Gaza Strip with orders to clear the northern Gaza area of Hamas rocket launchers. The hardest moment was when I heard over the radio that my brother-in-law, 1st Lt. Aharon Karov, was critically injured by a booby trap. His body absorbed over 300 shards of shrapnel. It is a miracle that he survived.
“We witnessed many miracles in our two weeks of fighting. One day a mortar shell exploded only five meters (16 feet) away from our Armored Personnel Carrier. No one was hit by shrapnel, but if the shell had hit our APC full of ammunition, we would have all been killed on the spot. Another time, we were pinned down by heavy sniper fire with bullets whizzing by our heads, yet no one was hit! We managed to direct our cover tank to fire on the building where the sniper was located and take him out.
“Throughout the war, Rabbi Yosi, our Rosh Yeshiva, sent us SMS messages to keep up our spirits. The boys at the yeshiva took it upon themselves to learn Torah in the Beit Medrash around the clock on our behalf. I was moved by the feeling of camaraderie everyone felt. The entire platoon reported for reserve duty willingly; ready to sacrifice their lives to put an end to the missiles falling on Sderot and Ashdod.”
Cpl. Chaim M. (20), YBA Yeshivat Hesder Ruach Tzfonit Kollel, Akko, IDF Paratrooper Brigade, Southern Command:
“I was with the first units to enter the strip on Saturday night. Even though we went through many training maneuvers, the first time I found myself in actual combat, going house to house aiming at windows and searching for snipers, a switch went off in my brain: 'This is the real thing.' We didn't engage in any face-to-face gun battles. The enemy fighters we expected to meet disappeared into thin air.
“At night we pulled back to behind the sand embankment our bulldozers prepared as a forward position. On Monday morning we pulled together a minyan for Shacharit prayers and read the Torah portion. On Tuesday my platoon commander, Aharon Karov, his radio operator, and a third soldier were seriously wounded in a booby-trapped house. The following day my unit was caught in the open by sniper fire and I was hit twice. The first bullet was stopped by my ceramic vest, which saved my life; the second bullet ripped through my hand. I was bandaged and evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
“As a religious soldier you never know what kind of situations war can put you in. On Friday afternoon I was transferred to Tel Hashomer Hospital where doctors were to operate on my hand. We were still traveling in the ambulance when Shabbat began, so I started reciting the Kabalat Shabbat prayers. I was sure the other injured soldiers in the ambulance thought I was crazy, but when I started singing Lecha Dodi, everyone joined in. It felt as if each of us was singing to hearten the others.
“In the end the operation on my hand was a success. I still have more rehab work to go, but thank G-d, I'm going to be okay.”
As an orphan, IDF regulations exempted Cpl. Chaim M. from serving in a combat unit. He chose to do so, however, because of his commitment to the value of serving the State of Israel to the maximum of one’s ability.
Click here to donate to any of the eight YBA Yeshivot Hesder |
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OPERATION CAST LEAD SUMMARY REPORT
Moshe Bar-Haim, Director of the YBA Southern District, reported that during Operation Cast Lead, missiles fell within 50 meters (180 ft.) of the YBA Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dekalim in Ashdod, and the YBA high school Yeshiva and Ulpana in Ofakim.
A total of 2382 students from the Southern District were relocated and hosted by the following YBA schools due to the missile threat from Gaza during the operation:
- YBA Kfar Haroeh hosted YBA Ohel Shlomo, Beer Sheva
- YBA TO”M hosted YBA Neve Herzog, Ashdod
- YBA Raanana hosted YBA Beit Yehuda, Kfar Maimon
- YBA Aderet, Bat Yam hosted YBA Or Etzion, Merkaz Shapira
- YBA Givat Shmuel hosted YBA Netivot
- Ulpanat Reut Petach Tikva hosted Ulpanat Even Shmuel
- Ulpanat Arad hosted Ulpanat Ayelet Hashachar, Ofakim
- Ulpanat Tehilat Yisrael, Eilat hosted Ulpanat Netivot
Lounging on the lawn of YBA Kfar Haroeh |
Other YBA schools in the Southern District rescheduled their annual field trips and seminars to take advantage of the unanticipated break and to remove their students from the constant tension caused by the rocket threat. Following the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead the schools returned to their normal schedules.
Merkaz YBA's General Director, Elchanan Glatt, noted that all the schools effected by the war demonstrated flexibility and adaptability under adverse conditions, and expressed his appreciation to all the rabbis, principals, teachers and counselors who contributed in making the improvised solutions a great success.
Click here to donate to the Operation Cast Lead Relief Fund
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DUDU FISHER ENTERTAINS SCHOLARSHIP FUND EVENT
A performance by internationally renowned Israeli entertainer Dudu Fisher highlighted the Israeli Friends of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva “Generation to Generation” Event saluting YBA’s 70 years of educational excellence. The event was held at the University of Tel Aviv Smolarz Auditorium on December 18, 2008, with all proceeds earmarked for the YBA Scholarship Fund.
Dr. Vermus and Rabbi Drukman
with Honoree Aharon Markowitz |
Israeli philanthropist Aharon Markowitz was honored with the “Yakir YBA” Prize, presented by Rabbi Haim Druckman, Chairman of YBA in Israel and Dr. Danny Vermus, President of the Israeli Friends of YBA. Elchanan Glatt, Director General of YBA, served as MC for the event, which also featured a performance of two YBA yeshiva choirs and a video marking YBA’s 70th anniversary.
Dudu Fisher performed many numbers from his current show “Coming Home” and punctuated his performance with many humorous and touching recollections of his years as a student at YBA Nachlat Yitzchak at Moshav Nechalim, near Petach Tikva.
Dudu Fisher onstage |
Mr. Fisher is best known worldwide for his acclaimed performance as Jean Valjean in the Broadway hit Le’Miserable. During his two years in the role on Broadway, he did not perform on Friday nights and Saturdays so as not to violate Shabbat. Mr. Fisher reflected onstage how he had the strength to resist the temptation of staring on Broadway until the show’s producer agreed to accommodate his Shmirat Shabbat condition. He credited his YBA education at the yeshiva for instilling in him that commitment to Jewish values.
Click here to view photos of the “YBA Generation to Generation” Event
Click here to donate to the YBA Scholarship Fund. |
YBA NEVE HERZOG TRACK TEAM WINS BIG
YBA Neve Herzog, Ashdod students returned from a month-long break due to Operation Cast Lead just in time to celebrate the victory of their fellow students in Israel's national Track and Field Competition, held in the Jordan Valley this year. Kara Mekonenit took first place with a time of 7:36, followed by his teammate Tarfa Tarkon, in second place with a time of 7:43 in the difficult 2,500 meter cross-country race in the 7th-8th grade catagory. Both winners are 13 year old olim (immigrants) from Ethiopia.
Coach Attias with YBA Neve Herzog Track Team |
Like many YBA yeshivot ulpanot, YBA Neve Herzog opens a special middle school/high school class for Ethiopian olim once every 4 or 6 years. The new immigrants are put on a fast track for educational and social integration, with extra lessons in Hebrew language, rabbinic Judaism, Israeli culture and individual tutoring in all academic subjects. The curriculum is primarily remedial for the first two years; however, by the third and fourth years, students are gradually mainstreamed into the school's regular classrooms. By the end of 12th grade the olim succeed in the tough Bagrut (matriculation) exams along with their sabra (native-born Israeli) classmates, paving the way to higher education in Israeli colleges and universities.
The track team’s victories brought home the first trophies for YBA Neve Herzog, following in the footsteps (so to speak) of YBA TO”M, whose track team has won numerous trophies in the past seven years. Coach Shimon Attias speculated that future head-to-head competitions between the two YBA teams may result in new national track records for Israeli youth.
Click here to support the competitive sports program at YBA Neve Herzog |
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Oz Ben-Shmuel
Director of Public Relations
oz@yba.org.il
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