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SEVEN AMIT STUDENTS MURDERED IN 1997 REMEMBERED IN CEREMONIES IN ISRAEL
February 18, 2005, New York City...... They are called the "Sheva Banot," seven young girls, all students at the AMIT Fuerst Comprehensive High School in Beit Shemesh. In 1997, while on a trip with their class to "The Isle of Peace" in Naharayim, Jordan, they were murdered by a Jordanian soldier who attacked the group with a machine gun. The girls were all 13 and 14 years old.
Recently, a memorial ceremony was held at Naharayim, where a permanent memorial exists for the seven girls. A procession walked from a nearby kibbutz to Naharayim for a tree-planting ceremony. In attendance were Israel's Minister of Education, Limor Livnat; Menachem Leibovich, vice chairman of the Keren Kayemet Board of Directors; Daniel Vaknin, mayor of Beit Shemesh; Yosi Vardi, mayor of the Emek HaYarden Regional Council; Dr. Amnon Eldar, director general of the AMIT Network; representatives of the bereaved families and of the girls' class; and three representatives of the government of Jordan.
Ziva Elimelech, a classmate of the seven girls, was one of the speakers at the ceremony.
"The sound of the gunfire still echoes within me," she told those assembled. "I look at the observation tower on the hill and remember. I will never forget how we started running to hide in the bushes. The yellow flowers were our means of defense against this horror. We yelled for help, screamed helplessly. In the bus we sat on the floor, scared that we would be shot at again.
"The days that followed were so difficult," she continued. "Teachers could not come into the classroom and look at the seven empty chairs. And then we started dealing with the tragedy. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, we missed them.
"The Lord Almighty watches over them," she concluded, "over our seven flowers in heaven...."
In the United States, the seven girls have been memorialized with the Sheva Banot Scholarship Fund. This fund was established and is funded by the New England Council/Ra'anana Chapter of AMIT. Each year the funds are used to award scholarships to seven deserving students at the AMIT Fuerst Comprehensive High School in Beit Shemesh who have proven their excellence in academic study and/or extracurricular activities. In the past, many of the scholarships have been awarded to Ethiopian immigrants who comprise 10 per cent of the student body.
If you would like to contribute to the Sheva Banot Scholarship Fund, please mail your gift to AMIT, 7 Brady Road, Westborough, MA 01581, or contact amitboston@charter.net.
AMIT enables Israel's youth to realize their potential and strengthens Israeli society by educating and nurturing children from diverse backgrounds within a framework of academic excellence, religious values and Zionist ideals.
AMIT educates and cares for Israel's youth, including the most vulnerable. More than three quarters of AMIT students cope with educational, psychological, economic and/or social risk factors. AMIT approaches each child as an individual, maximizing his or her potential, and enabling our students to become vital, productive members of Israeli society. The AMIT schools promote religious tolerance, service to the state and the recognition that every child is blessed with unique talents and abilities. Founded in 1925, AMIT operates more than 60 schools, youth villages, surrogate family residences and other programs, constituting Israel's only government-recognized network of religious Jewish education incorporating academic and technological studies.
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Media Contact:
Barbara Goldberg
Director of Communications
212-477-4720, ext. 127
barbarag@amitchildren.org
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