For a firsthand look at top soldiers in training for IDF’s cutting-edge technological units, former commander-in-chief of the Israeli Navy Admiral Abraham Ben Shoshan paid a visit to Boys Town Jerusalem. By his own admission, the admiral was extremely impressed with what he saw.

Admiral Ben Shoshan visited Boys Town Jerusalem thanks to a connection made by Josh Weston, honorary chairman of the BTJ board of directors. At the start of his on-site tour, the admiral was personally briefed by the faculty of the school’s College of Applied Engineering, which has been appointed by the Israeli army as a training center to prepare future officers for specialized technological units. This year, a record number of students are enrolled in three major programs: “Shachak,” training electronics specialists for the Air Force; “Marom,” training soldiers to research, develop and maintain weapons systems in the Army Ordnance Corps, and a new course in advanced computer programming to prepare specialists for IDF intelligence and communications units.

On the high school level, the admiral took a special interest in Boys Town Jerusalem’s sophisticated computer studies department, which holds the distinction of having been selected to initiate the first “Cisco Networking Academy” in Israel 15 years ago. Grads are now serving in top IDF units, including the support teams for the Iron Dome Air Defense System.

Following discussions with students and BTJ administrative leaders including Dean of Students Rabbi Moshe Linchner, CEO Amir Kisar, and executive vice president of Boys Town Jerusalem Foundation of America Rabbi Ronald Gray, Admiral Ben Shoshan declared that he would make a personal effort to involve the Israeli Navy in the advanced, specialized courses offered at Boys Town Jerusalem.

Abraham Ben Shoshan served as commander-in-chief of the Israeli Navy from 1985 to 1989. Later he became Israel’s Defense and Armed Forces Attache at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and was subsequently appointed as director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in 2000.