HECHALUTZ FORMS TRAINING UNITS

A large number of young Jews in this country will soon be called upon to respond to the special needs of Palestine at a time of stress. The Hechalutz organization, in cooperation with all parts of the American Zionist movement, is issuing a general call for enlistment in plugot, or special training units, with a view toward answering the need of Palestine for volunteer specialists in one field or another.

With the graduation of the Hechalutz "fledglings" near at hand, new plans are being drafted for an extension and continuation of their training. The members of the Hechalutz aviation unit at the Cream Ridge farm are completing their training at the end of this month as licensed private pilots. Of the seven who are completing the course, most will continue with flight training until they are given instructors' licenses; the others will study in related fields: aeronautical engineering, navigation, and mechanics.

The call for trainees will be issued in the near future. Fifteen aviators and thirty radio operators are expected to begin the new course. It is expected that the majority of the membership in the plugot will come from the ranks of the Zionist youth organizations in this country.

A minimum of two years' service as workers or defenders in Palestine will be required of all those who enlist in the plugot. The Jewish Agency is to have supreme jurisdiction over the activities of the plugot.

From NEWS AND VIEWS, May, 1941

(Editor's note: Aharon Rernez, the first commander of the Israel Air Force, and several other important officers of the Israel Air Force received their first flying training with the aviation pluga of American Hechalutz.)