JERUSALEM, Israel – As Americans celebrated Labor Day, more than two million Israeli children headed back to school on Monday, among them, more than 23,000 living in communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, the area brutally attacked on October 7th, 2023.
In what was described as an emotional day, the children returned to school in their home communities for the first time since the massacre nearly two years ago. And participants said the children were not afraid but excited to go back to school at home.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the children at the Eshkol Elementary School in Kibbutz Magen on their first day back and planted a tree for the future.
Standing in front of a border wall constructed in the last two years to protect the school from the direct line of fire from Gaza, Huckabee said it’s a reminder of what lurks on the other side.
“It’s an honor to be a part of planting a tree. It’s a greater reminder that the wall represents (that on) the other side is danger, death, and darkness. But on this side of the wall, we’ve seen life and joy. We’ve seen children coming and preparing for a lifetime of leadership, preparing for their future,” Huckabee said.
He added that the children didn’t look like they were afraid of the future.
“I looked in their faces and saw children that are looking at a future that, basically, they’re excited about.”
“This is the most wonderful day I’ve ever spent; it’s not to look into the faces of children who are afraid but to look into the faces of children who are excited about the first day of school and to know that this wall is behind them, but their future is completely in front of them,” he declared before planting the tree.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news.***
Among the participants in the event were Eshkol Mayor Michal Uziyahu and representatives from the Jewish National Fund USA, which has been partnering with communities around the Gaza Strip for years.
“This morning is a defining moment for the entire State of Israel and the Jewish people as we reopen the schools in the Gaza Envelope after two years of devastating times we experienced,” said Tali Tzour, chief Israel officer of the Jewish National Fund USA.
Tzour said JNF has been helping the communities to rebuild and restore life to the region.
“We see the smiling faces of the young kids and their parents, and all the communities excited to come back. We feel that this is it. This is life. The kids are back. The smiles are back. The region will recover, and we are with them,” she added.
