This week we were fortunate to host a group of students from the Gaza envelope area. Six teenagers aged 15-18, who all live in villages around the Gaza strip (Mefalsim, Netiv Ha’Asara, Kfar Aza, Erez, and Bror Hayil), accompanied by 2 teachers, met with some of our Ivrit GCSE and A-Level students. The visitors introduced us to life in their area before 7/10. They also gave personal accounts of their experiences on the day of the attack, and provided an insight into their life since then, as evacuees.

At the end of the session the Israelis gave our students yellow ribbon pins, bracelets and dog-tags, as part of the campaign to bring all the hostages home now.

We were all mesmerised by the visitors’ courage and resilience and were grateful for their candidness. After the session the visitors were treated to a lunch at the JCoSS canteen, during which they were approached by students from all year groups who wanted a chance to talk to them. Participants on both sides were left wanting the session to be longer.