Inbal Pezaro of Kibbutz Yizreel and Mazel Makonen of Afula Illit lit beacons in the Independence Day Ceremony on Mt. Herzl, on April 16, 2002.

Inbal represented Ilan, (the Israel Foundation for the rehabilitation of children suffering from neuromuscular disabilities), the Kibbutzim and Anglo Saxon immigration. Inbal is the winner of the European Champion Silver Medal for Swimming in the Disabled Sports Competition, summer 2001. She will be participating in the Disabled Olympics in Athens in 2004. Inbal's parents Judy and Peter immigrated from New Zealand over twenty-five years ago. Inbal, 15 years old, is an excellent 9th grade student at the Emek Harod Comprehensive School.

Mazel represented the youth of immigrant families from Ethiopia. Mazel has participated in the Scouts Youth Movement in Afula Illit for 5 years, and is the coordinator of their young people's program. Mazel, the 3rd in a family of six children, is in the 12th grade in the ORT school in Afula Illit. She participates in a program at the Technion University geared to help students from Ethiopian immigrant families to succeed in high school and on their matriculation exams. Mazel was a participant in the P2K Seeds of Peace group from Afula-Gilboa in the summer of 1999, and has participated in discussions with the SNEC solidarity mission participants. Mazel was 8 years old when she immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in the winter of 1991.

  Sivan 5762 - May 2002