Pre-Military Academy 'Sde Eliav' Opens to Fulfill Fallen Officer's Vision for Peripheral Youth
The pre-military academy "Sde Eliav," established by the Ma'ase Center under the Ofek Pre-Military Academy Council, will open its first session this September with about 30 cadets from across Israel. The academy was founded to realize the vision of the late Captain Eliav Avitbul, who was killed in combat in southern Lebanon about a year and a half ago. Avitbul, deputy platoon commander of Battalion 8207, dreamed of creating a pre-military program to prepare young people from peripheral regions for meaningful IDF service, Torah study, personal growth, and community contribution.
The cadets, mostly from socially and geographically peripheral areas such as Beersheba, Dimona, the Gaza envelope communities, and the Negev, have completed registration and will participate in a six-month program. This program is designed especially for youth who cannot commit to a full year of pre-military service but want to engage in a values-based framework before enlistment. During the program, participants will volunteer in community work, agriculture, education, and social initiatives in southern Israel.
Avitbul dedicated his life to education and social work, raising troubled youth with his wife Tal and donating a kidney to a 12-year-old stranger while continuing to serve in the reserves despite being exempt. The academy is led by Roi Suleiman, an educator with nearly a decade of experience at the Paduah Academy, who emphasized that the opening is more than an educational institution; it is the continuation of Avitbul’s dream to cultivate youth with identity, responsibility, and mission.
The opening of "Sde Eliav" adds to the expansion of half-year pre-military academies in Israel. This year, over 2,500 cadets are expected to study in more than 60 Ofek academies nationwide, with a 20% increase in enrollment from peripheral areas. Yossi Malka, CEO of the Ofek Pre-Military Academy Council, praised the new academy as a meaningful way to honor loved ones and strengthen the presence of value-driven youth in Israel’s north and south, calling it a triumph of spirit over adversity.
