The 48 hours in which Israelis and Jews around the world mourn, then celebrate the Israeli Memorial Day and the Israeli Independence Day are a unique sequence that makes Israel so special. The Beer Sheva-Bnei Shimon - Montreal Partnership's "Gesher Chai between schools" project illustrated this special bond between the Jewish Community of Montreal and Israelis citizens from the region on those two special days.

In its fifth consecutive year a delegation of 16 students from the Beer-Sheva Bnei-Shimon region traveled to spend these special days in Montreal with their friends from their twinned schools. The delegation organizes and participates in the ceremonies of the Israeli Independence in Montreal.

In the photo, you can see one wall in the special Memorial Room, that the visiting students from Ulpanat Amit, Beer Sheva, designed and built, in their Montreal Hebrew Academy twinned school.

 
At the same time, Dr. Shimshon Hamerman, Principal of Solomon Schechter Academy in Montreal was the guest of honor in the Beer Sheva Afik school ceremony of Israeli Independence Day. Tens of kids from various kindergartens from the Yod-Aleph neighborhood participated in the ceremony in addition to the hundreds of students from Afik.

These are just two examples of wide spectrum of activities this Gesher Chai project runs during the year, in the two communities.   

A special top leadership management of the Ministry of Education is coming to Beer Sheva on May 2 to learn how this unique project is affecting the relationships between Israel and Jews abroad.