Mechinat Meitarim Lachish
Pre-military preparatory programme (mechina) based at Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, with branches next to the Gaza Strip and in the occupied West Bank
| Mechinat Meitarim Lachish
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| Logo | 
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| Type | Pre-military academy (mechina); registered association (amuta) |
| Founded | 30 January 2007 |
| Founder(s) | Yaniv Mazuman (founding head) |
| Registration ID | 580472587 (Israeli Registrar of Associations) |
| Status | Registered |
| Headquarters | 1, Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, 7937000, Israel |
| Location | Branches at Beit Guvrin, Dorot, Nahal Oz and Gevim (inside the Green Line) and Eshkolot (beyond the Green Line, occupied West Bank) |
| Services | Year-long pre-military programme preparing students for "full, quality and meaningful" IDF service in combat units and command and officer tracks |
| Registration | Israel |
| Key people | Meir Lifshitz (chief executive and head); Shmulik Shaul (head) |
| Website | mlachish.org |
Mechinat Meitarim Lachish (מכינת מיתרים לכיש, the "Lachish Pre-Military Preparatory Program") is a pre-military academy for religious and secular young Israelis. It began at Kibbutz Beit Guvrin in 2007 and has since opened branches at Kibbutz Dorot, Kibbutz Nahal Oz and Kibbutz Gevim, next to the Gaza Strip.[1] It says it prepares students "for a meaningful military service".[1] Its Hebrew website now also lists a fifth branch at Eshkolot, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.[2][3]
The programme is run by the association Amutat Meitarim Lachish, which was registered on 30 January 2007.[4] UK charities have funded it: the JNF Charitable Trust gave it £861,000 between 2015 and 2022, and the JCA Charitable Foundation gave US$20,000 in 2022–23.
Organisation
Amutat Meitarim Lachish (עמותת מיתרים לכיש) is registered with the Israeli Registrar of Associations as association no. 580472587. Its registered address is 1, Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, 7937000, and its listed field is education. According to the register it had an income of ₪15,191,157 in its latest report, with 31 employees and 22 volunteers.[4] According to the Budget Key (Mafteach HaTaktziv) database, all twelve of its recorded government support grants came from Israel's Ministry of Settlement and National Missions, ₪19,557,376 in the last three years.[5]
Its registered objects include educating students "to enlist for full, quality and meaningful service in the IDF, in volunteer and combat units, in command and officer tracks", and preparing them "physically and spiritually" to join the Israel Defense Forces.[4]
Founders and heads
The mechina's own staff page describes Yaniv Mazuman, who lives in Eliav, as its former head and now chief executive of Yad Ben-Zvi.[6] The Herzl Institute described him as having been "the Director of the pre-military academy ... Metarim Lachish, for nine years".[7]
| Name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meir Lifshitz | Chief executive and head of the mechina | Former combat soldier and commander in the Paratroopers Brigade; serves as a reserve battalion commander[6] |
| Shmulik Shaul | Head of the mechina | Lives in Eliav; for about 11 years principal of the high school at the Susya environmental yeshiva in Susya, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank; reserve paramedic in the 79th Battalion of the 14th Armored Brigade[6][3] |
| Gilad Shai | Vice-president, development and strategy | Serves in the reserves in an operational unit of the Intelligence Corps[6] |
| Yaniv Mazuman | Former head; regular lecturer | Chief executive of Yad Ben-Zvi[6] |
| Zvika Arran | Former chair | Co-founder of the Nachshon pre-military academy[6] |
| Moriah Ben-Tulila, Amir Ellenberg, Ranit Budai-Hayman, Avi Naim | Board of directors | [6] |
Location
The first branch is at Kibbutz Beit Guvrin in the Lachish region. A second branch opened at Eliav in 2014 and moved to Kibbutz Dorot, near Sderot, in 2021. A third opened at Kibbutz Nahal Oz after Israel's 2014 assault on Gaza (Operation Protective Edge), and a fourth at Kibbutz Gevim in 2024.[1][8] Beit Guvrin, Eliav, Dorot, Nahal Oz and Gevim are inside the 1949 armistice lines (the Green Line). Nahal Oz and Gevim are next to the Gaza Strip.
The fifth branch, at Eshkolot, is beyond the Green Line in the occupied West Bank. The mechina's website names its manager as Avihu Peri and says it will be named after Michael Ben Hamo, a graduate killed in the fighting at Kissufim on 7 October 2023.[2][6] Peace Now lists Eshkolot as a settlement established in 1982.[3]
Link to IDF service
The programme prepares participants for military service.[1] Its registered objects commit it to educating students to serve in "volunteer and combat units" and in "command and officer tracks" of the Israel Defense Forces.[4] Pre-military academies (mechinot) are gap-year programmes that prepare young Israelis for IDF service. An IDF report in 2013 found that 79.5% of mechina graduates enlisted in combat units.[9] See Mechinot.
The mechina says that five of its people were killed in the latest war. It has named its Beit Guvrin branch after Yitav Lev HaLevi and its Gevim branch after Guy Nazri, both graduates; the Gevim naming ceremony was held on 21 December 2025. It has dedicated Torah scrolls to Michael Ben Hamo at Beit Guvrin and to Daniel Peretz at Nahal Oz.[2]
UK funding
| UK charity | Year | Amount | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JNF Charitable Trust | 2015 | £29,000 | "Meitarim Lachish Pre Army Programme – Equipping the Campus of Eliav" | [10] |
| JNF Charitable Trust | 2018 | £7,000 | Restricted fund "Meitarim Lachish": £7,000 received and spent | [11] |
| JNF Charitable Trust | 2019 | £10,000 | Restricted fund: £10,000 received and spent | [12] |
| JNF Charitable Trust | 2020 | £75,000 | Restricted fund: £75,000 received and spent; listed as "Meitarim Lachish – Leadership Program" | [13] |
| JNF Charitable Trust | 2021 | £710,000 | Listed under Education/Training in the "Full list of project expenditure in Israel". The restricted fund received £683,000 that year, spent £33,000 and carried £650,000 forward | [14] |
| JNF Charitable Trust | 2022 | £30,000 | "Full list of project expenditure in Israel" (the same list repeats £710,000 for 2021). The restricted fund received £82,000, spent £30,000 and held £702,000 at 31 December 2022 | [15] |
| JCA Charitable Foundation | 2022 | US$10,000 | Grant to "Mechinat Meitarim Lachish" (the foundation's accounts are in US dollars) | [16] |
| JCA Charitable Foundation | 2023 | US$10,000 | Grant to "Mechinat Meitarim Lachish" | [16] |
The JNF Charitable Trust figures total £861,000 for 2015–22. The JNF Charitable Trust's 2021 and 2022 accounts give different pictures of the 2021 money: the list of project expenditure shows £710,000 spent in 2021, while the restricted-funds note shows only £33,000 spent that year and £702,000 still held in the fund at the end of 2022.[14][15]
See also
External links
- Mechinat Meitarim Lachish (English)
- מכינת מיתרים לכיש (Hebrew)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mechinat Meitarim Lachish, About Us mlachish.org, viewed 14 October 2026 and 31 October 2026 ("Lachish Pre-Military Preparatory Program"; branches at Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, Kibbutz Dorot, Kibbutz Nahal Oz and Kibbutz Gevim; prepares students "for a meaningful military service").
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mechinat Meitarim Lachish, home page and Eshkolot branch (Hebrew) mlachish.org, accessed 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Peace Now, Israeli settlements at the West Bank – the list and Eshkolot (type: settlement; established 1982) peacenow.org.il, accessed 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Registrar of Associations, register of associations, entry 580472587 data.gov.il, accessed 31 October 2026 (registered 30 January 2007; status registered; address Beit Guvrin, house no. 1, postcode 7937000; income ₪15,191,157 in the latest report; 31 employees, 22 volunteers, 10 members).
- ↑ Amutat Meitarim Lachish (580472587) Mafteach HaTaktziv (Budget Key), accessed 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Mechinat Meitarim Lachish, Leadership & Staff and צוות המכינה (Hebrew) mlachish.org, accessed 31 October 2026.
- ↑ Herzl Institute, Yaniv Mezuman herzlinstitute.org, accessed 31 October 2026.
- ↑ Council of Pre-Military Academies, מכינת מיתרים לכיש (Hebrew) mechinot.org.il, accessed 31 October 2026.
- ↑ Maayana Miskin, Twice as Many Officers from Premilitary Academies Israel National News, 26 May 2013, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ JNF Charitable Trust (company 00355248), Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2015, PDF p.24, filing history, Companies House.
- ↑ JNF Charitable Trust (company 00355248), Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018, note 13 Restricted funds, PDF p.33, filing history, Companies House.
- ↑ JNF Charitable Trust (company 00355248), Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, note 13 Restricted funds, PDF p.47, filing history, Companies House.
- ↑ JNF Charitable Trust (company 00355248), Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020, note 13 Restricted funds, PDF p.59, and project list, PDF p.64, filing history, Companies House.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 JNF Charitable Trust, Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021, note 13 Restricted funds, PDF p.51, and full list of project expenditure in Israel, PDF p.56, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 JNF Charitable Trust, Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022, note 13 Restricted funds, PDF p.51, and note 21 full list of project expenditure in Israel, PDF p.58, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Charity Commission, JCA Charitable Foundation (207031): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; accounts for the years ended 31 December 2022 and 2023, note 3 Grants payable ("Aggregate grant made in US$"), PDF p.19.