The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, "Black Friday," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's policies, and the demographic relationship between Muslim Shiites and Sunnis are just a few of the topics that will be explored in the new Iran studies program launched this school year at Navon High School in Holon.
Fifteen students accepted into the program will also study the Persian language and delve into Iranian culture. Additionally, they will gain a deep understanding of Israeli security and intelligence topics, including intelligence gathering, identifying threats, counterterrorism and source evaluation.
Students in Israeli high schools are required to have a major course of studies, and are tested extensively on it.
Shin Bet and Mossad in the classroom
The Iran Studies program, also known as Security and Research (SR), will begin this school year at the Navon Gymnasium in Kiryat Yitzhak Rabin, making it one of the most relevant and innovative programs today.
Etty Avoda Kazula, the principal of the six-year school, explains that, together with the program coordinator Shai Shoshani, they managed to recruit a range of former security experts - including from the Shin Bet, Mossad and Unit 8200 - to serve as instructors.
"The program is designed for outstanding students. They will study information and data analysis, intelligence gathering, and even the Persian language," she explained.
"This won’t be like learning English or French in school. We’re teaching 60% of the language and 40% of the culture," she added.
Who can join the program?
"This is not an easy road. We identified a select group of 15 students who are up to the challenge. They must have a high English level (Persian is closely linked to English), be enrolled in 4 or preferably 5 units of mathematics, have unique analytical thinking skills, the ability to analyze situations and presence in front of an audience.
"We want the students to graduate with a comprehensive set of tools. For us, the program is a flagship one which will ultimately benefit the students."
Who will teach in the program?
"We have a teacher from within the school who will teach information and intelligence, another teacher who works with the Defense Ministry and IDF and teaches Persian, and someone else from Israel's intelligence community. We'll provide regular and guest lecturers from the Shin Bet, Mossad and intelligence community."
Guy Konax, Shani Kaner, Hillel Rafaeli and Rotem Ben Tov, four of the program's students, shared their reasons for choosing this field and their aspirations.
"Security and intelligence have always interested me. I really love researching and learning new things, and I felt that this program would fill that gap for me in school," Kaner said. "I want to learn new skills and expand my thinking to new horizons, and the program I chose meets that need. On top that, I really enjoy discovering new cultures and learning foreign languages, so this is perfect for me."
Konax is also interested in the field of intelligence, and his curiosity about intelligence grew even more amid the war. "I want to focus on the field," he said. "This program provides the opportunity to develop my abilities, expand my knowledge and ultimately make an impact and contribute to the country through the critical role of intelligence, which we've seen play a significant part in wartime and especially in the past month."
"It's a very unique field and I'm looking forward to the school year starting so we can begin learning and exploring the topic," Ben Tov added.