Israel on Monday morning inaugurated the first kindergarten in the northern Samaria Jewish community of Homesh, 20 years after its residents were forcefully evicted during the 2005 disengagement.
The festive ceremony was attended by Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, deputy council head Davidi Ben Zion, Homesh Yeshivah head Rabbi Elishama Cohen, Education Ministry representatives, parents, children and former and current kindergarten teachers.
Dagan recited the traditional “Shehecheyanu” thanksgiving prayer, saying: “The disengagement is dead. The people of Israel live,” Israel National News reported.
“This is a moment of sweet victory for the Jewish people and Zionism,” the Samaria leader declared. “There will be many more kindergartens, here in Homesh and in the other communities that were uprooted.”
Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch said the opening signified “new roots of education and future” in Homesh. “This is not only an educational act but a Zionist one, of building and settlement,” he stated, pledging support for schools throughout the Land of Israel.
Ayala Levy, who taught at the kindergarten in the community until 2005, said she never imagined returning to Homesh after the disengagement. “It’s very emotional,” she said. “I began with five children and ended with 25 before the evacuation. I pray this will only be the beginning.”
Atara Rubin, who will be in charge of the new kindergarten in the town, told INN on Monday morning: “For years, we have been coming here with the children in tents, on holidays and on Shabbat. To now open a kindergarten run by the Ministry of Education is a great privilege.”
The Israeli government’s unilateral disengagement in 2005 entailed the destruction of four Jewish communities in northern Samaria: Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim, in addition to 21 towns in the Gaza Strip.
In March 2023, the Knesset voted 31-18 to repeal parts of a 2005 law banning Israeli civilians from entering and residing in the villages.
It took several more months for the Israel Defense Forces to green-light the return.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Security Cabinet in May approved 22 new Judea and Samaria villages, including the re-establishment of Homesh and Sa-Nur.
Monday morning’s ceremony in Homesh coincided with the first day of the new school year in the Jewish state, as more than 2.5 million children returned to classrooms and kindergartens nationwide.
