5 Fingers Mechina Expands U.S. Recruiting Efforts

First impressions are telling.

Coming to the campus of the 5 Fingers Mechina leadership training program on Mount Carmel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, this writer encountered a group of 18-year-olds putting their carpentry skills to good use stripping and refurbishing a wooden desk.

And doing a nice job.

It was the first clue that 5 Fingers – the name implies its hands-on philosophy – is a radically different kind of place; a non-political, non-doctrinaire boarding school for Jewish teens from Israel, America and elsewhere whose goal is self. Among the 105 pre-IDF preparatory schools overseen by Israel’s Joint Council of Mechinot, 5 Fingers has an outstanding reputation as a boot camp for character building and self-confidence training whose graduates go on to pursue leadership roles in civil society and the army.

Arriving the day before this interview in the late summer, Tuvia – a graduate of the Atlanta Jewish Academy and champion wrestler who placed third in the Georgia State Division – was gung-ho about his new home for 10 months and his 71 newest best friends.

“It’s fantastic. It’s incredibly social,” he began.

Tuvia – who asked that his last name not be cited – explained the fast-paced day begins not long after sunrise with a group yoga and stretching session. All meals and kitchen duty are prepared by the students. Collective responsibilities include food shopping. Students’ duties range from making their own bed to keeping the campus spotless.

“After touring several mechina programs, I chose 5 Fingers as the most physically intensive,” he said.

Why pick Israel when many American prep schools similarly teach high school grads resilience? Tuvia responded that he is following in the steps of his 27-year-old elder brother who made Aliyah and works in cyber security in Tel Aviv. While not all overseas students opt to remain in Israel, the intensely Jewish and Israeli experience shapes them for a lifetime.

“My parents want the best for me. They see this as a way to make the most of myself,” he added. “A lot of teenagers in Atlanta think going to college is their only option. I want Jews to consider their options in Israel. There is more to life than partying.”

Straight to the point like his Israeli peers, Tuvia said his priority is to become fluent in Hebrew, and to enlist in Zahal’s combat engineering corps.

Or Cohen, 5 Fingers’ director of diaspora engagement, said a contingent from the program was at this summer’s JCC Maccabi Youth Games held at the Jewish Community Centre in suburban Toronto, Canada. For security reasons, the 3,000 teen participants were not allowed to travel to the city. Hence, many encountered 5 Fingers and its emphasis on mental training meant to mold “the person I want to be in the future.”

Cohen, who was the first woman to serve as the captain of an Israeli Navy combat vessel, aims to broaden the diversity of students from abroad.

“It can definitely benefit the Jewish communities around the world.”

There is simply no substitute for the joint Israeli-Diaspora immersion experience, she said matter-of-factly.

Like Cohen and many of the 5 Fingers staff, director Gai Beeri also has a proud military record. A veteran of the elite Shayetet 13 commandos – Israel’s equivalent of the Navy Seals – he ensures the school maintains a very high standard. The physical and mental exercises are meant to be “comfortably hard” rather than an impossible challenge, he said.

Nevertheless, some students cannot cope and drop out, he noted. Some are expelled for violating the school’s policy of zero tolerance for alcohol, drugs or violence,

“Everyone should compete against himself,” he added. “But it’s not the army here.”

Jim is a New Orleans businessman whose son, Daniel, graduated last year from 5 Fingers, and is now serving in the IDF. His daughter, Naomi, is in this year’s cohort.

“This mechina brings out quality character,” Jim – who asked that his surname not be used – enthused. “This mechina is transformative. It brings out the best in you.”

Staring at a tsunami of assimilation among Jewish American youth, he advised other parents: “Sending your kids to 5 Fingers is putting them on a path to success personally, emotionally and professionally. It will put them way ahead of their peers who didn’t go. Give it an honest look. The mechina raises lions, not lambs.”

Tuition for non-Israelis at 5 Fingers is $20,000 for the year though scholarships are available. Considering the cost of American universities, that may be a bargain. Moreover, those motivated overseas graduates of the Mechina who enlist in Zahal (the IDF) as a Lone Soldier without family in Israel are eligible for a considerable number of financial benefits. For example, the Heseg Foundation (www.Heseg.com) offers to pay the tuition for demobilized Lone Soldiers. While one must apply and be accepted on the basis of one’s grades and aptitude, free tuition at a professional faculty of medicine, dentistry, engineering, or architecture is a major expression in Heseg’s belief that the best Jewish students from abroad are those most committed to the country. 5 Fingers may be the best investment a young American Jew can make in his or her future.

For more information, go to www.5fingers.org.il.