Amid a rash of fires in Israeli border communities ignited by incendiary kites from Gaza, kids in Sderot fly handmade ‘kites of life.’
Hundreds of kites and helium-filled balloons bearing flammable materials have been launched from Gaza since March 30, killing wildlife and incinerating thousands of acres of forests and agricultural fields in Israeli border communities.
In a therapeutic response to the kite terrorists operating only about 20 miles from their city, officials in Sderot invited parents and children to create and launch colorful handmade kites bearing positive messages.
The kite-making workshop hosted June 11 by 7 Sderot Mall Center was open to families from the surrounding towns and featured a presentation of stories, legends and facts about the development of the kite.
Each child received materials from the Israeli company Gamigo to make his or her kite. At the end of the workshop, the kids launched their creation into the sky.
“As opposed to our neighbors from the Gaza Strip who have turned the wonderful hobby of flying kites into an act of terrorism, with terrible damage to agriculture, the children of Sderot and the surrounding communities are returning the kite to its source — from preparation to flying it into the sky and hoping that it will not fall,” Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi said.
“We are busy with positive things and optimism and the desire that our children always be happy,” Davidi added. “I also call on the children of Gaza to enjoy playing with kites and not be drawn astray by terrorist elements. Ours are kites of life, not death.”
The weekend preceding the kite festival was marred by 17 kite-ignited fires.
In another positive response to the agricultural and environmental impact of the terror fires, the Keren Kayemet Le’Israel-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) on June 8 began distributing thousands of tree seedlings to residents of Gaza border communities to kick off a weeklong planting campaign.
This story originally appeared on israel21c.com.
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