1998-11-27 Yemin Orde-students |
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By Donald H. Harrison Yemin Orde, Israel (special) -- "Look what I have from your city, San Diego," my cousin, Miriyam Ernst, told my wife, Nancy, and me on a visit to her home here earlier this month.
The communities--along with Yemin Orde, which is a live-in school catering to foreign students in Israel--all are on Mount Carmel, near Haifa. Miriyam's father, Zvi, teaches computer science at Yemin Orde and the family lives with him on the campus.
An unsigned artwork from another student showed everyone running from the fire and children being saved. A student named Baracha said, "I am very sorry that the kibbutz got burned down. I hope you get well soon and get new stuff." Cousin Miriyam wanted the Soille children to know that the entire kibbutz did not burn down, only some of the structures. Further, she said, she wanted the Soille pupils to know that "all the children were very happy that they were thinking about us." The Israeli students sent back pictures with Frydman. One drawing said "Hi, my house is not burned. Bye. bye. I live in Kiryat Carmel." Another, signed by Michoel, 11, said: "I am happy to know that children living so, so far away are asking about us. I guess this is what it means to be Jewish." Back in San Diego, Frydman, who teaches Hebrew language, said that news of the fire had "awakened in our children their sense of connection to fellow Jews and to people in need." She said the correspondence has led to ongoing letter writing and sharing of experiences among the Israeli and American children. The American children learned not only about the fire but also about how "children their own age, who study in school the same subjects, the same Torah portions, who share with them the destiny of the Jewish people, were forced to live in temporary trailers and to attend school in makeshift classrooms," a Soille spokesperson said. Soille San Diego Hebrew Day Sschool has a derech eretz program emphasizing
character building. Education for parents includes programs on how to raise
caring and responsible children. "This tragedy galvanized the srands of
good character within the student body, and built bridges between these
children which span the great distance," a spokesperson said.
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