Tzahal backed by Ascent

Education secures victory. Describing one conclusion for Israel’s lackluster performance in the Second Lebanon War, Col. Roni Suleimani of the IDF Education and Youth Corps, said that religious programming makes the difference in motivating his soldiers to fight. “Many have questions why it is necessary to serve their country. Our mission is to strengthen the answers to these questions, which strengthens their fighting spirit,” Suleimani said.

In 2007, the IDF contracted the Tzfat-based Ascent organization to provide Jewish programs to officers stationed in the north of Israel. “I recognized early that this is an investment that pays in itself. Ascent brings the soldiers back to Judaism, which is what we do here in America with our children,” said Great Neck resident Adam Hutt, who hosted Ascent director Rabbi Shaul Leiter on his fundraising visit on June 13. Hutt first met Rabbi Leiter on a visit to Tzfat 20 years ago.

“The task is to create a Jewish environment for the soldiers. We teach them that there is a G-d and Hashem is with you. The land of Israel is holy and needs to be protected. There can only be victory because we are surrounded by enemies,” Rabbi Leiter said. For many officers, a Shabbaton in Tzfat is their first Shabbat experience, a combination of meals, tours and lectures. “Our staff of 20 is all baalei teshuvah IDF veterans. They are a bridge between Jewish tradition and the army. The ice melts and the soldiers feel comfortable,” Rabbi Leiter said.

From the initial year’s worth of 20,000 participants, some 60,000 are expected to attend Ascent programs this year, but a budget crunch has sent Rabbi Leiter to look for outside sources of funding, speaking of the common goal in promoting Jewish observance to his audience. “Every time they need a new missile they strip from the education budget and now 80 percent of our budget comes from donations,” Rabbi Leiter said. The expected shortfall is $700,000, but it does not deter Rabbi Leiter from hosting dozens of soldiers in his home and a building campaign to purchase a hotel next to the Ascent building, to house the visiting officers.

The Ascent building has 75 beds, while a nearby hotel increases the number of overnight participants to 250. The historic building, the Tel Aviv Hotel, served as a consulate in the Ottoman period and as a maternity ward during the British Mandate. “The uniqueness of Tzfat is that the holiness is everywhere,” Rabbi Leiter said. “Imagine 120 soldiers each week experiencing Shabbat for the first time in Tzfat. Programs are expanding exponentially.”

Ascent provided 46 percent of educational programs for the IDF in 2010. “There is an effect. It’s filtering down from the army. Israeli schools also have a Jewish identity program now,” Rabbi Leiter said. Critics have also taken note of the religious program. At a hearing last year, Knesset Member Nitzan Horowitz of Meretz argued against Ascent’s work in the IDF. Colleague Menachem Eliezer Moses of United Torah Judaism shouted him down. But Meretz is in the minority, as senior military leaders recognize the influence of religious education on the morale of soldiers. “Maintaining strong defense forces requires not only professional military skills but demands a strong spirit as well,” said the IDF’s top education officer Brig. Gen. Eli Shermeister.

A baal teshuvah with a Chabad background, Rabbi Leiter, founded Ascent in 1983 with two other American-born couples to serve visitors to Tzfat. Liron Kreitman, the Long Island coordinator for Friends of the IDF offered praise for Ascent’s work. “I was a lone soldier when I served. Every soldier needs a sense of purpose. This is extra motivation in those three years of your life.”