Displaced Gaza border children finally start the school year in Eilat

Today, I am reporting from Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel. During my visit, I encountered some remarkable individuals, unsung heroes of the war. Among them was Dina Houri, who served as principal of the elementary school in Sderot for 25 years. Following Simchat Torah, she embarked on a relentless mission to establish Israel's largest educational campus for displaced children. Remarkably, she managed to set up a school for 450 students in a parking lot, all in record time!

“This year, we started the school year four times: in Sderot on September 1, twice in Eilat post-Simchat Torah in temporary locations, and now finally, in a fully-fledged school,” Dina said. Highlighting the dynamic nature of the student population, she noted, “Each day brings a new challenge. Just this morning, we welcomed children from four new families who moved here from Dead Sea hotels, while another three families returned to Sderot.”

Dina explained that the Education Ministry had called upon retired teachers from all over to join the effort, while the security guard is a familiar face from their original school in Sderot. 

Dina passionately appealed, “I urge everyone who is feeling drained by over three months of displacement to come and contribute to the children's education. We need help! We have mothers here whose sons are stationed in Gaza. Engaging in this vital work, focusing on nurturing the next generation, is the best therapy for them.”

During my visit to the classrooms, I was moved to hear the third-graders opening the school day in Eilat with the “Modeh Ani” morning prayer, part of a strong display of resilience. The struggle to maintain a routine and ensuring regular school days forms a critical aspect of this broader conflict.

A ringing success

Devora Batashvili is the woman standing in the center of the picture, next to the president of the New York Stock Exchange, and ringing the closing bell. 

Devora earned this honor in recognition of her remarkable achievements as Head of Development and Sales in the Middle East at the ICE company, which is responsible for the New York Stock Exchange. She and her husband Maor traveled especially to New York from their city of Lod together with their baby daughter.  When the management of the NYSE congratulated Devora for having a baby and continuing to work, she casually infomred them that this was her fifth child. 

Devora would have loved to say something in support of Israel, but according to the rules of the ceremony, she was not allowed to speak at this stage. Instead, she wore a necklace resembling a dog tag advocating for Israel’s captives and IDF soldiers and which everyone saw.

Devora told me that during the ceremony, she recalled all the well-meaning people who in the past had advised her against immigrating to Israel because she would not succeed, who told her not to work in finance because she would not succeed as a religious person, or not to have a family with many children because it would impede her career...

In a period when the world perceives Israel negatively, Devora stood out as a great light.

His memory will be blessed 

Last week, we lost Eyal Mevorach Twito in battle at Khan Yunis. In 2019, Eyal embarked on a year-long mission to Baltimore, driven by his passion to share the Torah from the Land of Israel with the Jews of the Diaspora. Matanya, a fellow emissary at the Baltimore school where Eyal served, shared the profound impact of Eyal's passing on the community. They fondly recalled his time there and the meaningful connections he forged.

In his honor, Jewish schools across Baltimore displayed numerous photos of Eyal, creating a poignant tribute. Accompanying these images were seeds for the children to take home and plant. This act, in honor of Tu Bishvat, also made them a part of the magnificent Jewish story that transforms tragedy into growth and renewal.

“Eyal's mission in the U.S. was unfortunately shortened due to COVID, forcing him to return to Israel mid-school year,” Matanya noted. “On the 13th of Shvat, the day he fell in battle, Eyal completed that mission, connecting the Baltimore children to his values in a deeper way than he could have ever imagined.”

May we merit, both in Israel and around the world, to see Eyal’s dreams and values continue to inspire and flourish.

Do you have good news?

During a recent visit to US Jewish communities, shortly after the devastating report of a large number of soldiers who fell in Gaza, Sara Bluming, a Chabad emissary in Maryland, asked me if I had any good news to share. 

“Maybe you are the good news,” I replied. 

I feel that a historic shift in the mindset of millions of Diaspora Jews is underway. There are more and more American families that are making Aliyah, and we are seeing similar trends among Jews from France.

Here are a few examples of local initiatives: Rabbi Nochem Tenenboim, a Chabad emissary in Hewlett, New York, told me that after Simchat Torah, when he heard that 1,100 had been murdered, he launched a project whereby 1,100 Jews would make a new, ongoing commitment to Jewish practice or activity. In this manner, he said, 1,100 eternal flames would be lit in honor of those that were lost. 

The response has been phenomenal. People started taking on various commitments, such as attending weekly classes on Judaism and learning Hebrew, men starting to put on tefillin, and more.  

At the beginning of an event in Westchester, a woman was asked to read a prayer for Israel, but she broke down in the middle and couldn’t continue. If only I could bring such emotion and pure intention to my prayers!

At the last event, in Potomac, Maryland, Sara Bluming observed that people previously uninvolved in Jewish activities were now participating. They can’t explain why they are coming or what they want, she said, but they’re coming.

Maybe this burgeoning interest in Israel and Judaism is the start of something bigger. Hopefully, we’ll remember this year not only for its anguish and many losses but as a turning point in our nation’s history.

The horrific events of Simchat Torah taught us that evil can surprise us and cause agonizing harm in ways that were unimaginable. Let’s harness our imagination in a positive way and envision the incredible good that is possible, as millions of Jews throughout the world awaken, return to their inherent Jewish identity, and come home to their nation. 

May we all hear good news.

Translated by Yehoshua Siskin.