A historic and emotional moment unfolded Sunday morning in northern Samaria, as Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Samaria Governor Yossi Dagan inaugurated new kindergartens in the towns of Ganim and Kadim ahead of the school year. Over 40 excited children, along with their parents and extended families, attended the special ceremony—21 years after the educational institutions there were destroyed and evacuated as part of the disengagement plan. Also present at the festive event were Education Ministry Deputy Director-General Yigal Tzarfati, District Director Ella Mozes, Hemed Central District Supervisor Orly Batito, Council CEO Haim Margolis, and Education Department Director Tal Navoni.
1+The return to Ganim and Kadim is being carried out as part of the “Reconnection Plan,” led by Governor Yossi Dagan in collaboration with the Amana movement, which outlines the establishment of 19 communities in the northern Samaria region as part of the “Million in Samaria” plan. The re-establishment of the communities was made possible following a cabinet decision to regulate the communities, led by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Education Minister Yoav Kisch declared during the ceremony that the return to northern Samaria is a national mission of the highest order, and emphasized that the education system is proud to take part in correcting the historical injustice and building the next generation throughout Judea and Samaria.
Hodaya Haniya, a kindergarten teacher in Kadim, said: “To see a kindergarten opening in a community being rebuilt, after years of waiting, is a moment of great gratitude to God and excitement that’s hard to describe in words. The minister’s presence at this first step of the pioneering families warms the heart and gives tremendous strength. The staff and I are simply waiting to embrace the children with warmth and love, and to fill this place with life, and lots of joy and fun among all the sweet children.”
1+Moriah Maslati, a mother of five whose son Yehuda began the school year this morning in the renewed town of Ganim, said: “We are very, very excited that the new kindergarten opened today in the rebuilt town of Ganim. We feel like we’re really making history here and bringing life back to Ganim after 21 years when there was no life here and no children running through the streets.”