On September 4, Jewish National Fund USA hosted more than 2,000 children, including 1,500 elementary school students from Sderot, on a field trip to the Biblical gardens of Neot Kedumim, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
In Israel, such a day is called a Yom Kef - a fun day. For the children of Sderot, a city of 24,000 located less than a mile from the border of Gaza, the day was a dramatic relief from the tension they live with every day.
The Fun Day for the children from Sderot came together in just 72 hours another miracle in Israel. So driven by their desire to do something special for the children of Sderot, staff from KKL-JNF, Neot Kedumim as well as administrators from every elementary school in Sderot, worked around the clock to coordinate the complex logistics of the day.
Alon Badihi, executive director of JNF USA in Israel said, “Today was a day of relief for the children of Sderot. We want them to know that we love them. We want to thank them for being there for the Jewish people. We want to send them the message of how important it is for Jewish children all over Israel to keep living their lives and to remember how to have fun.”
Although Operation Protective Edge is officially over, the children from Sderot, living so close to the Gaza border, have been living under rocket fire all their lives.
For further information, comments or permission please contact
Ahuva Bar-Lev
KKL-JNF – Information and Internet Department