Alumni of the pre-military preparatory academies sent a letter to Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi demanding that their budgets be adjusted so that students visit the gravesides of graduates who fell in battle.
In the letter, the pre-military preparatory students said their school budgets be made conditional on the academy sending a representative to the graves of alumni on Remembrance Day.
"As part of absorbing [Zionist] values, we make sure to privately visit our friends' graves every Remembrance Day and stand by the families with difficulty and joy. On our visit to the cemetery we are thrilled and excited to see a group of young warriors coming to pay homage to their fallen unit," the letter read.
"We do not see any recognition and commitment of the preparatory schools, budgeted by the Defense Ministry, to go and visit those who fell as graduates of the preparatory school," the letter continued.
Ariel Gantz, one of the letter's signatories, said in a statement that strengthening the presence alongside the bereaved families is an important step throughout the year, especially on memorial days when the family goes to the grave of their loved one."
"When you see IDF soldiers who did not know that they are standing in front of the grave and giving the family a supportive shoulder, you can not remain indifferent to the uniqueness and sense of sanctity of life in this sad situation. Therefore, it is not possible that preparatory academies whose purpose is to inculcate values in the youth prior to recruitment will not officially join such a move."