Steve Linde | JNS
A memorial garden was inaugurated at Al-Manahil School in Majdal Shams on Sept. 8 in memory of the 12 children killed on July 27, 2024, when a Hezbollah rocket struck a packed soccer field in this picturesque Druze town on Israel’s northern border.
Six of the children — now lovingly remembered in the Majdal Shams community as the “12 angels” — were students at Al-Manahil.
At the ceremony, their families planted colorful flowers in flower boxes, schoolchildren sang songs of praise and the school created a time capsule in their memory that will be sealed until 2075.
In what was termed “A call to the children of the future,” a schoolboy read from a card in English, saying, “To those who open this capsule 50 years from now: Here lie the dreams of children who are gone … We leave you a message of love and peace, to bear witness that hope never dies.”
Revealing the contents of the capsule, a schoolgirl added, “We wrote these letters to you, drew our dreams and placed our pictures inside so you would know that we were here, playing, learning and dreaming.”
While the school envisioned establishing the memorial garden, it was funded by Bridges for Peace, a Jerusalem-based Christian organization that stands with Israel, in partnership with Rev. Majed El Shafie, founder of One Free World International, a Toronto-based international human rights organization.
“More than a commemorative monument, the garden has been designed as a therapeutic refuge where traumatized students can find restoration through creation and growth,” Bridges for Peace said. “Its interactive design and greenhouse will allow children to plant, nurture and see life flourish in memory of their friends.”
The “Peace Team Garden” stands as both a symbol of remembrance and a testament to international solidarity, built in a northern Israeli Druze community with love from Christians around the world, it said.
‘I Learned That From Pain We Can Rise’
Naila Fakhr al Din, the mother of 11-year-old Alma Ayman Fakhr al Din, one of the 12 children killed in the Hezbollah attack, is a math teacher at the school who recently returned to teaching at the start of the school year after taking off for more than a year to mourn and heal with her family.
“I learned that from pain we can rise. In a different way, of course. We can go out of our comfort zone,” she said. “From Alma, I have learned many things. One of them is to be generous. To be kind. To say, ‘I love you.’”
She continued, “‘There’s so much worth living for.’ Alma wrote this sentence. On her paintings, on her canvases. On her gifts that she gave to her friends. She believed in that sentence. On this earth, there’s so much worth living for. She believed that every day is a new day, a new opportunity to give. To love and to give hope.”
Al-Manahil’s principal, Jihan Safadi, spoke of the devastation left in the wake of the attack — the empty desks, the haunted stares, the nightmares — and of the community’s commitment to emerge from the tragedy for the sake of future generations.
“Some good things happen for bad reasons. This is what is happening today. A good thing is happening today for the bad reason that we lost 12 of our children, six of them from this school. We are Druze and we say, ‘This is life,’” Safadi said. “We hope for peace for our land. We don’t want revenge. We don’t want anything. Thank you.”
In an interview with JNS, she shared, “It was a very hard year. We lost 12 children, but there were 150 children on the soccer field that day and we have to work hard and look after them all, with the support of the parents and the teachers and the community and everybody. Our 12 stars are shining on us. This year began very well and we will not forget. We remember all the time, but we believe that life will be good.”
‘Heavenly Strength’
Rev. Peter Fast, the CEO of Bridges for Peace, said he admired and appreciated the “heavenly strength” of Naila Fakhr al Din and the residents of Majdal Shams.
“This is a place where we don’t just remember what happened that day, because it carries with it 12 names of angels who had lives and infinite possibilities of what they could accomplish — and something horrific happened,” he told the families. “Their memories will live forever, in our hearts, in your children’s hearts.”
Promising to spread the story of Majdal Shams to Christians around the world, he looked at the school building, saying, “But it is a story of hope and light as well — and healing and restoration. Even when we feel broken, I think Hashem (God) gives us the strength to restore, and it’s just amazing that you have this place of memory, of life and of joy in each person. Look behind you. You have a school filled with children of infinite possibilities.”
He concluded by directly addressing the families, teachers and students gathered for the ceremony, “We love you. We stand with you. We pray for you. And we will continue to stand with the people of Majdal Shams, from this day and beyond, 50 years and beyond.”
El Shafie, a Muslim-born Egyptian who converted to Christianity and, after being sentenced to death, fled Taba on a jet ski to Eilat and now lives in Canada, is an eloquent advocate for Israel and its Druze community, which numbers approximately 150,000.
“Once we heard about the terrorist attack that killed 12 children, it broke our hearts, really,” he told JNS in an interview. “We felt that there’s not enough international awareness about what’s happening to the Druze, not just here but also in Sweida, for example. So we had to do something to remember these 12 kids and support this community.”
He added, “Don’t forget that this community stands side by side with Israel and the Jewish people. They all serve in the army and sacrifice for the State of Israel. They should be honored in every way.”
