Standing Together in Solidarity: Students from Dror Galil on Kibbutz Ravid Visit Sakhnin

 “We heard about what happened and felt deep pain and real difficulty in processing such a severe and disturbing racist incident.” 

Students from Dror Galil address the school community, sharing words of solidarity, standing against racism and violence. 

These were the words read aloud by students from Dror Galil, one of Dror Israel’s Social High Schools located on Kibbutz Ravid, when they arrived at Ibn Khaldun School in Sakhnin last week. Students and educators came to stand alongside the Ibn Khaldun community following a violent attack on its students and staff during a school trip. 

The visit followed a severe and racially motivated attack that took place while seventh- and eighth-grade students from Ibn Khaldun School were on a school trip in the Beit She’an Valley. The students and accompanying teachers were assaulted by a group of yeshiva students. As a result of the attack, fourteen students and two teachers were injured and required evacuation to hospital, leaving many shaken and deeply affected. 

The Dror Galil delegation also brought letters of support from other social high schools across the Dror Israel network. Their message was clear and collective: we refuse to normalize racism, violence, or fear. 

During the visit, the students read from a letter they had written together. They opened by apologizing for not speaking Arabic, and then spoke openly and directly: 

“It is very hard for us to hear about behavior like this, especially when it involves children and teenagers. It is important for us to say clearly and openly, from the heart, this is not our way, and this behavior does not represent us as Jews in Israeli society. It does not reflect the values on which we were raised and educated. We are here, together. Together to pave a path of peace, love, and acceptance of the other in Israeli society. Together to restore a sense of safety, humanity, and the belief that it is possible to live here with mutual respect.” 

Students from Ibn Khaldun School in Sakhnin speak about their experience, courage, and the importance of being seen and heard. 

For some of the students, joining the visit required working through fear and uncertainty. Tamara Rashad, an educator at Dror Galil, described the process: 

“Some of the students were afraid to come because they didn’t know where Sakhnin was and were worried something might happen to them there. When we opened a map together and talked about it, they understood how close it is. It was important to me that they understand what is happening around them, and that they learn we are all human beings.” 

Tamara Rashad, an educator at Dror Galil, speaks to the gathered students: “It’s important to me that the students leave this visit understanding that we are all human beings, and that there is a chance for peace.” 

The students of Ibn Khaldun welcomed the delegation warmly. As they shared their experiences and the impact of the attack, the presence of peers who came simply to listen and to stand with them was deeply meaningful. By the end of the visit, students from both schools were taking selfies together, a small but powerful moment reflecting their shared desire for normal, safe lives. 

Students from Dror Galil traveled just twenty minutes, yet crossed a much larger distance to be present and show solidarity. 

At Dror Israel, and across our network of social high schools, we believe in a society that listens, includes, and recognizes the dignity of every person, regardless of origin, skin color, or language. In moments like these, the role of educators extends beyond the classroom. It is to help restore a sense of safety, to create space for processing pain and fear, and to continue educating toward mutual respect and shared life. 

This was not the first time Dror Galil chose to act in moments of pain. In the past, the school visited an Arab community school following the murder of one of its students. These visits are not symbolic gestures, but expressions of a deep educational commitment to seeing one another as human beings and believing that another reality is possible. 

We stand with the students and staff of Ibn Khaldun School and wish healing to all those harmed, both physically and emotionally. We hope that from this painful moment will grow a renewed educational commitment to confronting violence, rejecting racism, and strengthening a shared future rooted in humanity, tolerance, and partnership. 

We are against violence.