Nahal Brigade

The Nahal Infantry Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces main infantry brigades. It was established in 1982 in response to the growing need for infantry manpower in the wake of the 1982 Lebanon War. It is formed mainly from regular draftees as well as from a core of soldiers from the Nahal group, part of the Nahal movement, which combines social volunteerism, agriculture (historically the establishment of kibbutz farming communities) and military service. Many Mahal foreign volunteers are also known to serve in the Nahal Brigade, providing a highly motivated and disciplined core of soldiers for the brigade.

Nahal Brigade soldiers are distinguished by their light green berets, which earned them the nickname "sticklights" (Hebrew for glowsticks). The brigade is composed of 4 active-duty battalions – 50, 931, 932, and 934 (the Gadsa"r, Hebrew for reconnaissance battalion) – and the various companies on its training base, which together comprise Battalion 933.

It operates on a rotational basis on the most volatile Israeli borders (Lebanon, Syria and Gaza) as well as in the West Bank territories. It is tasked with regular patrol and observation operations on the borders, counter-terrorist operations and riot control in the West Bank as well as tactical assault support to police operations in the territories.

Nahal

Nahal (Hebrew: נח"ל‎) (acronym of Noar Halutzi Lohem, lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) refers to a paramilitary Israel Defense Forces program that combines military service and the establishment of agricultural settlements, often in peripheral areas. In later years, the program expanded to include volunteering and social welfare projects. Its groups of soldiers formed the core of the Nahal Infantry Brigade.

History

In 1948, a gar'in (core group) of Jewish pioneers wrote to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion requesting that members be allowed to do their military service as a group rather than being split up into different units at random. In response to this letter, Ben-Gurion created the Nahal program, which combined military service and farming.

Some 108 kibbutzim and agricultural settlements were established by the Nahal, many of them on Israel's borders. Nahal settlements in the Jordan Valley and the Arabah played an important role in Jordan's decision not to join the other Arab countries in attacking Israel during the Yom Kippur War.