300 days into the war: Jewish children rescued by Yad L'Achim activists with their mothers from Arab villages participated last week in the traditional annual camp that the organization holds for them at a vacation complex in the north, which was rented especially for them.
This camp was not "just another" of the thousands of camps held across the country during this period; it was intended for those Jewish children who were born in hostile Arab villages or mixed cities and raised as Muslims.
In their childhood, their Arab fathers tried to forcibly separate them from their Jewishness and raise them as Muslims, but with great divine help they were rescued from the captivity of body and soul in which they were held and returned to the people of Israel.
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""The dozens of children who arrived in organized transport from all over the country were warmly welcomed by the guides, and after tasting the refreshing refreshments, each of them received a branded shirt, a t-shirt, and a kippah embroidered with their name," says Rabbi Chaim Kahn, one of the senior activists at Yad Laachim, who successfully ran the camp - about the first moments after their arrival at the site.
""Alongside the many joys they experienced during the camp, which included fun trips, competitions and social games, and a host of treats and fun days, what stood out most about the camp was their prayer for the peace of our brothers and sisters who are held captive by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. They, who were there, and know firsthand what such captivity can look like, prayed from the bottom of their hearts to God Almighty to bring those precious Jews who are in Gaza, in their hardships and captivity, out of their misery and captivity, to redemption.".
Since the camp was designed to deepen the children's Jewish identity, each prayer was performed with full attention. The dedicated instructors turned each prayer into an experiential and special event, and these children found themselves connecting to prayer, some for the first time in their lives.
""They do study in Jewish schools where we enrolled them, but many of them only connected to prayer and understood its meaning now. The magical and special atmosphere that prevailed there made them connect, and almost all the participants told us at the end of the camp that they would start from now on to pray three times a day and take the matter more seriously," the activists' organization say.
In addition to trips to experiential parks, spectacular river courses, swimming, and various types of water sports in the Sea of Galilee, the boys also learned essential concepts in Judaism, and took part in empowering spiritual experiences that will accompany them throughout their lives.
Rabbi Kahn: "As every year for decades, what also characterized the special camp was the fact that these children learned to get to know children with identities and life stories similar to their own, to get to know the tradition of Israel better, and also to allow their tormented mothers to rest a little. These children sometimes suffer from derogatory nicknames and humble their identity in their new Jewish environment, and suddenly they can be who they are. Equal among equals. Liberated. Finally, they can have shared experiences with children in a similar situation to theirs and not have to be humble and ashamed of their lack of knowledge.".
""The camp gives them the opportunity to make a positive change in their lives, to see how a Jew behaves, what a tzitzit and a kippah are, prayer and the Moda Ani, reciting the Shema and washing of hands, and much more.".
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