Yaakov Selavan

I’m an IDF reserve Captain, and alongside my operational role, I’m a motivational speaker for IDF soldiers and draftees.

My program Slingshot offers your group the ability to engage in real time challenges facing IDF commanders. I combine updated security reviews with an historical perspective, and a personal feeling of the challenges facing IDF soldiers.

I have never given the same presentation twice – each program is tailored to the group’s needs and interests.

My presentation is not a militant army experience – through my prospective from nearly a decade of combat service including under fire in war, I use the IDF as an educational tool to instill values such as responsibility, leadership, Jewish identity and more.

What makes Slingshot so successful is the ability to combine a strategic analysis alongside with an authentic connection to the field, entering my shoes as a combat soldier, with “boots on ground”. This gives your group both a deep understanding of Israel’s challenges, alongside a powerful and emotional connection to the IDF.

Licensed Tour guide: No

Available for virtual tours: Yes

Level of English: Mother tongue

Other languages: Hebrew

Tour guide or operator: Operator

Can arrange: Meals

Years of guiding experience: 2

Sample tour topics:
1) Security briefing on the Syrian Border or at your lodging.
2) “The Golan Heights Bunker Challenge” - Reliving past stories builds future leaders
A journey in the path of the 188th Tank Brigade’s untold compelling story, facing the Syrian breakthrough in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and its reflections on today’s soldiers.
Through the stories of individuals, their challenges, fears, sacrifices, we will delve into core issues such as Jewish identity, comradeship, courage and more.
3) “Get Boots On Ground!” – Step into the shoes of an IDF commander and get in touch with real time challenges facing you. Visit IDF training zone to simulate the moral and professional dilemmas.
4) The IDF As a Foundation to Innovation – the IDF’s role in Israel’s flourishing Start-Up Nation culture.
5) Lecture: “Ben & Jerry’s on Tisha B’av?! Lessons from the 2014 Gaza War”.
The lecture deals with war from a commander’s eye, emphasizing issues such as innovative thinking, moral challenges in the battlefield, leadership, and the lessons I took from the war as a person and as part of the Jewish nation.

Eshkol licensed: No

Vehicle available: Car

Largest group size: 50

Medic: No

Carries firearm: No

Academic degrees or special training:
BA
MA
Graduate of the IDF Tactical Command College with a specialty on military history and strategy

References:
Zev Krengel - President of South African Jewish Board of Deputies
Kim & Brian Farkas, Cleveland OH
Rabbi Shmuli Greene

Links to videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW82CftMqiU&t=104s

Links to articles:
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/captain-underpants-in-the-gaza-war-an-underlying-message-for-tisha-bav/
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/will-the-real-world-jewry-please-stand-up/
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ben-jerrys-on-tisha-bav-lessons-from-the-2014-gaza-war/

Website:
https://www.slingshot.co.il/

Regions of expertise: Golan

Type of tours offered: Military/War History, Politics