Pinchas Ivgi, Firing Areas in the South - "We Remove Dozens of Unexploded Ordnance Before the Holiday":
Pinchas Ivgi, a civilian IDF worker in charge of military and civilian activity in the firing zones under the Southern Command, is already ready for the arrival of the travelers during the High Holidays.
Volunteers across the country bring challah and cakes to IDF soldiers // Photo: Newsenders
Ivgy, 47, who was born in Casablanca, Morocco, immigrated to Israel when he was 20. He served in the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade and rose to the position of deputy battalion commander. A few years after retiring from the IDF, he returned to military activity as a civilian. Today, Ivgy is the commander of MITAM – the coordination center for training and areas – and his responsibility includes all the firing zones in the south.
Ivgy coordinates the training of IDF forces in the firing zones, alongside extensive civilian activity. "This is any activity in a firing zone in the south – military training, a company exercise, a brigade, a flight. Everything goes through me," says Ivgi, a resident of Ashdod and father of five. "This is a very large area. 80% of the IDF's firing zones are the responsibility of the southern sector. Besides, there is also extensive civilian activity and even botanical research in firing zones."
What is the main importance of your activity?
"My job is to enable military and civilian activity without anyone getting hurt. We are an army within a people, not a people within an army. I work with all the regional councils and all the green bodies. I have a supreme value in my job - to protect the nature reserves. It is important to minimize the harm to civilian life and allow the IDF to train. There is contact with all government companies and regional councils, and also everything related to the world of travel. As part of my job, I made it possible to remove a firing zone to allow sand surfing, and there are tens of thousands of hikers a year in our territories. Besides, there are companies that learn about natural phenomena and research in the firing zones, so I'm in contact with defense and civilian companies."
"During the holidays there is no training because citizens are allowed to travel",
Ivgy spoke about the special preparations for the holidays: "Three times a year - during the High Holidays, Hanukkah and Nissan - we 'dry' all the firing zones in the south. I'm stopping the training to allow civilians to travel. We are flooded with citizens during the holidays. Everything is open, but they are obliged to coordinate, because it is still a huge firing zone. The units search before the holidays and clean the area in preparation for civilians entering firing zones. We take out dozens of duds for each holiday and blow them up. Beyond that, we are also conducting a thorough scan for any other factor that may pose a danger."
In order to coordinate access to the firing zones in the south, please contact us by email: pkdarom@gmail.com
Captain Yiftach Valensi, Company 916 - "We rescued the Israelis before the fishing boat sank into the sea":
Capt. Yiftach Valensi, 23, is the commander of Deborah, a battleship, in the 916th Naval Division. The company's beekeepers are responsible for preserving the southern maritime area, thwarting maritime smuggling and preventing terrorist infiltration. Even during the High Holidays, they will continue to carry out their mission on routine security patrols.
Capt. Yiftach Valensi,
Alongside the ongoing activity, Capt. Valensi and the beekeepers under his command thwarted hostile events on the high seas. "I am the commander of a bee that guards the maritime borders of the State of Israel vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip," Valensi said. "We patrol and prevent Gaza targets from entering Israeli territory. Our area of responsibility is from Egypt and north to the Mikhmoret area. Most of the activity is carried out vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip, and includes preventing smuggling and guarding the maritime border. Most of the work is with Gaza vessels. We are there in every situation at sea, even vis-à-vis the Gaza population."
Apart from operational activities, the fighters assist civilian vessels. About four months ago, Valensi and his crew rescued six Israelis whose boat began sinking at sea.
"Four months ago, the Southern Theater Control Unit discovered a distress signal of a vessel at sea at 2 a.m. in complete darkness," Valensi recounts the incident. "We arrived at the scene, about 50km from the shore, and saw an Israeli fishing boat starting to sink. We managed to get the six people on board, and a few seconds later the ship sank into the sea."
A similar incident in the sector of Platoon 916 occurred only about a year ago. A civilian boat leaving the port of Ashdod began to sink and the forces of the Israeli Navy rescued the father and children before the vessel sank at sea.
"Our main mission is guarding the Gaza Strip," Valensi clarifies, but adds: "We protect the entire maritime space, in order to protect all citizens of Israel at all times, and especially during the holidays, so that the State of Israel can celebrate the holiday quietly and enjoy. We are guarding security from the sea."
Major Dor Hever, Etzion Brigade - "The biggest challenge ahead of the holidays is the defense of communities":
Major Dor Hever, the regional protection officer of the Etzion Brigade, knows thousands of Gush Etzion residents and in her capacity she mediates between the IDF and civilians. At the age of 25, she serves in the sector where she is responsible for the security apparatus on ten farms, three industrial zones and no fewer than 21 communities.
For the past five years, all approved trips have passed through it, and it places special emphasis on preparedness for terrorist attacks. Hever was born in Petah Tikva and is part of a military family. Her older sister serves in Unit 8200, and her younger sister also serves in the Intelligence Corps, while her father is an officer in the Israel Prison Service.
Coordination of trips from a security point of view,
"My job is to protect the communities and security components, but beyond that also coordinate trips in terms of security, training the civilian system, including alert squads – the entire world of security defense of the communities," she says. "In addition, protection of tourist areas and industrial zones in Gush Etzion, all while engaging in dialogue with residents, councils and secretaries of the communities.
"We provide accompaniment to all civilian events and are in close contact. We work according to the events taking place in the settlement in the Gush Etzion sector, which enables this direct dialogue that does an amazing job." Major Hever praised the people of Gush Etzion: "The settlement is unique, giving and helping, knows how to talk, always harnesses to every mission in the security system and in the sector. It's fun to work like that. Spatial defense is a unique cog, and work in Judea and Samaria is different from all places. I've been in my job for five years, I love the challenging work and work. The level of caring here is high, and so is the work – from the soldier to the security guard in the communities."
Major Dor Hever,
As the holiday season approaches, there is greater vigilance and preparation. "During the holidays, the period is more sensitive. There are more people than usual due to the vacation, and the holiday itself is a more sensitive point. Preparations are intensified with more travelers in the area. There are periods of thousands of travelers in some areas. The number of travelers is very high and it is a very touristy area. We try to enable a fabric of life. In addition, many events are produced here. Since the number of travelers increases during the holidays, we place military security in these areas, along with trips that need military security by individual coordination.
"The importance of military security is high in some areas. We've done a lot of work with the councils here to get citizens to coordinate their arrival."
Major Hever wishes to convey a message: "The biggest challenge ahead of the holidays is protecting communities and making sure that the holidays pass quietly and well. We want to see that people are happy to come here and not afraid. There is everything from history to stunning views here. From year to year we increase in the number of travelers. It's fun to see that people feel comfortable and want to come. You feel the effort we made in terms of security. We will be happy to coordinate during this period so that we will be in control and control. We are defending the sector with the best means so that everyone will have a high sense of security."
Lieutenant Gal Nir - "We come to the schools to see everyone at heart level":
Lieutenant Gal Nir, 24, from Hod Hasharon, serves in the IDF as a company commander in the IDF Preparatory Unit, one of five female teacher tracks and six additional companies of Nahal soldiers in the National Mission chapter, which operate in the community throughout the country.
Lieutenant Gal Nir,
The energetic Lieutenant Nir commands a company nationwide and about 100 female soldiers, who operate regularly in 16 municipalities throughout the country, from Shlomi in the north to Ofakim in the south. "Our connection with civilians is the heart of our activity," Lt. Nir describes. "We come into the schools, the neighborhood and the community to see everyone at eye level and at heart level. We prepare for the IDF, and our soldiers live in apartments inside the authorities. We have content workshops in schools and communities on Zionism with an emphasis on social education, values and a safe space."
The activities of Lieutenant Gal Nir and her soldiers are extensive and diverse, with special emphasis on different populations. The work stems from a deep understanding that the ongoing investment of Lieutenant Nir and her team may bring about a significant change in the lives of young people who are about to be drafted. "We also have activities with new immigrants and within youth villages and leadership programs," adds Lt. Nir, "We also did activities with the return to routine at the beginning of the school year."
"We also volunteer within the community with our campers as part of projects in various cities, along with activities for the elderly throughout the year. Our mission is the preparation of the youth for the IDF and the perception that the IDF is an inseparable part of Israeli society with a world of values from the service, which continues on into citizenship."
Photos: Naama Stern, Coco, Oren Nachshon, David Cohen/Ginny and IDF Spokesperson
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