Marva

Marva is a program in the Israel Defense Forces that allows young Jews to learn and experience the basics of IDF and Israeli life. Beginning in 1982, Marva operated out of a base in the Galilee, although it now is based at Sde Boker. It was originally associated with Gadna, youth battalions, which are now part of the Israeli Education and Youth Corps. Marva is open to anyone from ages 18 to 28 and speaks some Hebrew, although the vast majority of participants are between the ages of 18-20.

The program now lasts between seven to eight weeks long. Each week you are stationed at a different base. These bases include: Sde Boker, Bislach, out in the field, Wingate, Latrun, Michve Alon and Nitzana.

Participants must also participate in kitchen duty, guard duty, and punishments for not following orders range from pushups and waking up early to one forced to spend their free weekend on base. Marva has a greater focus on discipline and less of a focus on physical fitness compared to basic training for combat units in the army.

Starting in 2005, Marva participants were no longer given working rifles, due to an incident in which a Marva participant lost a rifle. The program costs about $900.

A food related virus outbreak in the summer 2007 session, due to poor hygiene conditions on the Sde Boker base, lead to the majority of participants suffering from some form of diarrhea and nausea. Many were hospitalized and all participants were sent home for a few days.

References

• Marva Program Description

External links

• "Israel Experience (Marva Program)" by Zach Goelman

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