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Yaakov Selavan

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Apr 12, 2018, 11:35 PM

Stop Holocaust-Based Identity!

As a grandson of a survivor and an IDF Captain, I find banal ceremonies and “Never Again” declarations ineffective. After leading an IDF march into Auschwitz-Birkenau, I understood the magnitude of our educational failure. The last day of our IDF...

Jan 17, 2018, 7:03 PM

Don’t Share This Message! (But You Should Read It…)

We all know this routine -- a tragedy happens, and moments later our smartphones are blasted with info and requests to pray for those in need. I experienced this in Protective Edge (Gaza 2014), I faced it 3 years ago...

Sep 18, 2017, 9:45 PM

What I learned from the massive IDF Joint exercise

A rabbi, a hi-tech entrepreneur, a lawyer and an educator walk into a tent. This is not the opening of a joke, but a scenario last week in my unit headquarters in the IDF’s largest exercise in 20 years. It...

Aug 14, 2017, 8:51 PM

Why I Thank Hezbollah Every Day

It fell out this year on the same day of the week as 11 years ago. Monday, August 14 – the day that changed my life’s path, and I did not even know. On August 14, 2006, I was shocked...

Jul 28, 2017, 2:57 PM

Ben & Jerry’s on Tisha B’av?! Lessons from the 2014 Gaza War

IDF soldiers hold Garnier care packages. (StandWithUs)

He was a tank commander in Gaza in the summer of 2014 when he saw what Jewish unity looks like

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About Me

Strategic affairs expert and IDF motivational speaker for soldiers and draftees. A Golan resident and an IDF Tactical Command College alumnus, Captain (Res.) Selavan is an experienced lecturer in Israel and abroad. Following a decade of service as an Armored Corps Combat Commander, he founded Slingshot Israel, which aims to educate and inspire by offering a unique insider’s look into the IDF.