A celebration at the AMIT Eitan Junior and Senior High School for Boys, Ma’aleh Adumim, this week, to open the first class of the new AMIT Benaia Pre-Military Preparatory Mechina and Junior College. The mayor of Ma’aleh Adumim, Benny Kashriel, parents, and the students, all participated in the event.
The Mechina will offer a two-year program in mechanical engineering for high school graduates, at the end of which participants will earn a practical engineering certificate and placement in a significant military post, either with the Israeli navy or the IDF’s elite Technology and Maintenance Corps.
There was great excitement among the participants when the mezuzah was hung by Rabbi Yehoshua Katz, the municipal rabbi, and when the parochet (Torah curtain) was hung by the Teshuvah family, who donated the ark in memory of their parents.
Mayor Benny Kashriel proudly noted the achievements of AMIT Eitan High School, his appreciation for the dedication and love the school provides its students, and the support that the municipality will give to help guarantee the Mechina’s success. Many of the speakers spoke of the opening as a dream come true that will lead the school to new heights.
After the speeches, everyone was invited to a gala dinner, where the words of thanksgiving and blessings continued, along with a professional lecture that introduced parents to the professional aspect of Mechina studies.
Daniel Be’eri, AMIT Eitan Principal said: “We continue to grow. This year we have progressed to an eight-year institution and will begin giving our graduates and any other interested students a values-based education and a solid professional foundation in a leading industry as a practical mechanical engineer, while contributing to the military and having a significant service.”
Shai Halperin, director of the Mechina, added: “We have, with G-d’s blessing, twenty-one amazing young men with whom we will shape the spirit of the Mechina for years to come. I have no doubt that with the professional and values training that they will receive here, they will be prepared to go into the army and their future lives with a sense of mission for contributing to the good of Israeli society.”
Rabbi Yossi Tshuva, head of the Mechina, said: “At the AMIT Benaia Mechina we seek to continue Rabbi Kook’s vision of the resurrection of the people of Israel by combining the world of spirit and material. Our vision is to produce idealistic graduates ingrained with values who will integrate into the employment market in key centers and positively influence Israeli society from within.”
