The Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday that it would reinstate the Gadna program, which allows Israeli high school students to spend a week experiencing military life before their compulsory service. The announcement came just four days after the IDF declared that the program would be shut down. The decision was made in response to a direct request from Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar to IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz. Yossi Levy, director of the Education Ministrys Society and Youth Administration, issued a statement to school district directors, saying, "I would like to inform you that the IDF announced today that it would renew its programs to bring high school students to army bases in the framework of Gadna, starting this Sunday. We will do everything we can to reschedule the Gadna week for students who missed out on this opportunity." The earlier IDF decision to cancel Gadna was "due to budgetary constraints," which led to the cancellation of programs for 12 high schools scheduled to attend this week. Upon hearing that the program had been canceled, the Education Ministry issued a statement saying: "We are talking about a unilateral step that is not values-based. It unjustly undermines the promotion of IDF service and its importance among high school students. The security establishment is not in such great financial distress as to require it to destroy this opportunity for high school students to attend Gadna, which is not very expensive." During Sunday's cabinet meeting, Sa'ar spoke directly with Gantz, who immediately said that he would consider the proposal. The IDF Spokespersons Unit announced on Tuesday, "As of Sunday, Jan. 15, Gadna training will resume until further notice. The renewal of this training will be made possible following a budget solution. In the coming months, there will be a re-examination of further budgetary aspects of the Gadna training sessions." On Saturday night, a group of high school students from a school in Gedera, in central Israel, protested outside Gantz's house against the decision to freeze Gadna programs. Gil Ben Moshe, a high school student from Lod, was one of the leaders of the protest. On Tuesday, he wrote on Facebook, "Our struggle has succeeded. This struggle was for Gadna in general, and not only for us. It is important that this tradition be preserved, with all the values it embodies. I am aware that it was canceled for budgetary reasons; we hope that the matter is resolved and that Gadna will resume on Sunday."
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