Havatzalot Program

The Havatzalot Program (תכנית חבצלות) is an elite program in the Israel Defense Forces, aimed at training highly skilled intelligence officers for key roles in Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate, also known as Aman. Havatzalot's cadets complete a full three-year bachelor's double major degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The first major is a unique compilation of different courses in Middle Eastern studies, political science and sociology. The cadets are free to choose their second major from the following options: Mathematics, Philosophy, Computer Science and Economics. In addition to academic studies, the cadets go through rigorous military and intelligence training, including visits to various IDF units, combat recruit training and officers' course. The three years of training are followed by six years of service in key positions in Aman. The Havatzalot Program is Aman's flagship program and is regarded as one of the most prestigious programs in the IDF. Suitability to the Havatzalot program is tested and evaluated in several aspects. First, the candidates must be curious and have an interest in current events and issues on the security agenda of the State of Israel. Second, they are required to have strong academic skills and to be outstanding students in high school. In addition, they must have advanced interpersonal skills and leadership potential. This is due both to the intensive nature of the training program's and to the nature of the subsequent positions, in which graduates are required to command teams in a variety of different collaborative, and often highly intensive frameworks. Candidates for the Havatzalot program are required to have a "quality group" rating (one of the primary screening tools for candidates for service in the IDF) of 56, and a primary psychotechnical rating (a grade given by the IDF and the Israel Police to candidates for recruitment, which is supposed to reflect the candidate's intellectual ability, based on a series of psychometric tests) of 90 - the highest possible grades in both categories.