Alumni

The Graduates Department was established in 1997. Its goal is to extend practical help to NAALE graduates, while generating a positive view of Israeli society in general and especially the NAALE administration.

The Graduates Department is in charge of the last segment of the NAALE curriculum. Its core is the transition from being a tourist and a student, to being an adult and a citizen who melds into Israeli society and contributes to its development.

This stage features three main "circles" with which the graduate must cope:

1. Saying goodbye to the school, to a support framework and to the group and to NAALE in general.
2. Technical issues — change in legal status, induction into the Israel Defense Forces or the National Service, getting into college, running their own finances.
3. Identity and mental issues — dealing with opting for citizenship, service, entering Israeli society and integrating to their parents´ home or alternatively not having one, choosing a career.

What this department does is extremely important for the NAALE graduate´s integration into Israeli society. The Department´s office will be the contact point and will give practical advice regarding the following areas:

Service (military/national); studies; officer candidate academic studies program; one-year voluntary service; studies for conversion to Judaism; military prep school; employment. Psychological advice and support will also be given.

The Graduates Department, in association with the IDF Education Corps, runs mid-service workshops for conscripts in the various units. These workshops deal with the various meanings and implications of military service and life in Israel.

Every class has a workshop for girls opting for National Service. These meetings combine giving information (educational institutions, funds, etc.), "letting off steam", support and social activities.

Gift packages are sent twice a year (at Rosh Hashana and Purim) to the young soldiers and to the girls in the National Service, the students at the military yeshivot and the institutes for conversion studies.

Each package includes a newsletter featuring new and updated information about everything having to do with NAALE graduates, including: TEHILA activities, host families (the REUT project), establishing clubs for soldiers without families in Kfar Saba, Hadera, Petach Tiqwa and other towns.

Graduates who studied at a state-run school or at a kibbutz school and wish to go through an orderly process of conversion to Judaism may do so after completing the 12th grade. Women go through the process at Kibbutz Saad, men at Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv.

The Graduates Department works with the military authorities starting with the pre-induction period, open-house days for those exploring joining an elite unit, visiting IDF bases including boot camp, induction (including rescheduling) and induction. When it becomes necessary, we ask for the soldier to be transferred to another unit. The Department also works with several other authorities: Absorption Ministry, Interior Ministry, the Student Office at the Jewish Agency, Employment Offices and the National Social Security. These resources are offered to the graduate on a need basis.

Every graduate facing interaction with a military or civilian framework may request assistance from the Graduates Department, including: individual assistance, supervision and support, crisis intervention, etc.

The Graduates Department staff includes:

• Iliya Dubinsky – Director, the Graduates Department
• Sasha Krupitsky – Coordinator and technical support