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Havatzalot Program

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The Havatzalot Program (Template:Lang-he) is an elite program in the Israel Defense Forces, based upon the concept of Talpiot program, aimed to train highly skilled intelligence officers. Havatzalot's cadets complete a full 3-year bachelor's double major degree. The first major is a unique compilation of different courses in Middle Eastern Studies, Political Science and Sociology. The cadets are free to choose their second major in Haifa University in addition to rigorous military and intelligence training. The training is followed by 6 years in key positions in Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate.[1]

Selection

Suitability to Havatzalot Program

The suitability to the Havatzalot program is tested and evaluated in several aspects. First, the candidates must be curious and have an affinity to current events and issues on the security agenda of the State of Israel. Second, they are required to have high learning abilities and to be outstanding students in high school. In addition, they must have high social skills and the ability to lead. This is due both to the nature of the program's training and to the nature of the subsequent positions, in which graduates of the program are required to command teams through intensive and joint work.

Candidates for the Havatzalot program are required to have a “quality group” (one of the primary screening tools for candidates for service in the IDF) of 54 and above, and a primary psychotechnical rating (a grade given by the IDF and the Israel Police to candidates for recruitment, which is supposed to reflect the candidate's intellectual ability, based on a series of psychometric tests) of 80 or higher.

Screening

The selection process includes:

  1. A web-based questionnaire - those who meet the criteria (ISR 54, 80) will receive a letter to their home asking them to fill out a questionnaire on the Internet, mainly to familiarize themselves with the students' academic and social background.
  2. Cognitive tests - general knowledge tests, logic, programming, languages, mathematics, etc.
  3. Explanation conference - The explanation conference is designed to acquaint the candidates with the training of Havatzalot in an in-depth and detailed manner. As part of the conference, the candidates will meet with 4. 4. graduates and apprentices of the program, with a chance to answer their questions.
  4. Group dynamics tests - during which the candidates will will be tested on team work, stress work, the ability to analyze situations, draw conclusions and more.
  5. Personal interview - A personal interview will be conducted in the presence of an intelligence officer who is a graduate of the program and an “Itur” (IDF’s intelligence selection and sorting organization) officer.
  6. Psychologist Day - The candidate is required to undergo a number of personal tests, including an interview with a psychologist whose purpose is to examine his suitability for service in the Intelligence Corps in general and in the Havatzalot program in particular.
  7. Officer examinations - The program graduates go to officers' course, and therefore the candidates must undergo placement tests at the Tel Hashomer base.
  8. Security investigation - A security investigation is intended to determine the suitability of candidates for exposure to classified information, in accordance with the information security procedures in Military Intelligence.
  9. Admission Requirements for the University - In addition to these stages, the candidates must meet the University of Haifa's dual-disciplinary undergraduate degree requirements, and therefore must receive a score of 650 or more in the psychometric exam (until April).

Training

Havazalot training is 3 years long, and serves as the cadet's obligatory military service, followed by 6 years of standing army service. The cadets of the program start their army service in intensive combat basic training, after which they join Haifa University.[2]In the past, participants went through a 3 year bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern Studies and another major of their choice of the following 4 majors: economics, mathematics, computer science or philosophy. However, the program has since been updated and participants now take Middle Eastern Studies combined with International Relations and Sociology.[3]

Simultaneously, the training includes many military and intelligence courses, in addition to visits to various units. Between the first and second year, the cadets go through Israel's Officers Course in the Bahad 1 base. The training used to include the IDF parachuting course.[4]

Training in Havatzalot comprises three central elements:

  1. The Professional element, which includes academic studies and military/intelligence training.
  2. The Values element, which includes many sessions about the values of the IDF (see Ruach Tzahal). In addition, twice a year, the cadets participate in a seminar in various locations around Israel.
  3. The Leadership element, which includes training and gaining experience in different command scenarios.

Service

During the third year of training, the placement of the trainee is chosen in an orderly process, in which the student's preferences (research, research, and intelligence) are examined, along with his abilities and his suitability for the position (according to the assessment of the commanders and the head of the program). At the end of the placement process, the position for the first two years of permanent service is chosen, out of the six years of graduates’ careers that they signed upon at the beginning of the training.

The graduates are assigned to core and value-added officer positions only in the entire intelligence community and its various bodies, including the Military Intelligence Research Division, the Special Operations Division, the various intelligence units in the IDF (504, 8200, 9900 and more), the intelligence units in the regional commands and divisions, in the Israel Air Force intelligence and in the navy intelligence.

At the end of the training the graduates are granted the rank of Segen (lieutenant), and after two years they receive the rank of Seren (captain). For graduates who wish to continue their service in the corps beyond the initial commitment (6 years) and who prove themselves capable are granted the rank of Rav-Seren (Major) even during the initial permanent service.

The graduates’ service in the corps includes a major emphasis on transition - experience in a variety of research disciplines, an in-depth and interdisciplinary knowledge of intelligence work, and a broad understanding. As a result, most of the graduates pass every two years between different units within the Israeli intelligence community and gain extensive experience in a variety of intelligence activities (a feature that is considered unusual in the intelligence corps).

Another major component of the graduates' service is the connectivity that exists between the graduates - an unmediated connection between graduates of the same year, or from different years, which are spread throughout the corps, enabling creative moves, and breaking bureaucratic walls and promoting innovative collaborations.


References

Elite Military Intelligence cadets complete training- The Jerusalem Post, 11/11/2013

  1. ^ https://www.aman.idf.il/Modiin/Maslul.aspx?catId=62702&docId=78062
  2. ^ http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2981343,00.html
  3. ^ http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Elite-Military-Intelligence-cadets-complete-training-331197
  4. ^ http://dover.idf.il/IDF/News_Channels/today/10/11/2302.htm
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