In shadow of war, new agricultural schools founded in southern Israel

Two agricultural high schools were established in southern Israel, in spite of the ongoing war and the traumatic October 7 attack against Israel.

Founded on September 1 in Nitzana, near the Egyptian border in the Negev Desert, and Eshkol, bordering the southern part of the Gaza Strip, the two schools aim to strengthen the agricultural expertise in southern Israel. They form part of the “Adam V’Adama” network of schools, an initiative of the HaShomer HaChadash organization.

Auspicious beginnings

Bank Hapoalim, the Administration of Rural Education and Youth Aliyah, the Secondary Education Department of the Ministry of Education, Jewish National Fund, and the Eshkol Regional Council also sponsored the schools.

Thirty-two students from grades 9 to 11 started the school year in Eshkol with agricultural work in greenhouses and orchards in communities bordering the Gaza Strip. Their activities included repairing, renovating, and repainting the archives of Sde Nitzan, volunteering at the Yuvlei HaBesor elementary school which involved building wooden benches, preparing garden beds, and planting vegetables with the elementary school students. Additionally, the students participated in educational activities and met with local residents.

In the coming days, upon the completion of the archive renovation, the students will host a heritage evening with settlement veterans who will share the story of the community’s establishment.

Remembering the fallen

The Nitzana school is named in memory of Yiftach Gorni and Liran Almossanino, residents of Nitzana who were called to protect residents of southern Israel on October 7 and fell in a heroic battles against the terrorists who invaded from Gaza. The school is expected to grow to approximately 100 students in grades 9-12 and will promote connections with the desert, revitalizing the Negev, agriculture, and settlement. In the first week, the students worked in Nitzana on agricultural tasks, repairing the animal's shelter, vegetable garden, working in pepper greenhouses, tomato greenhouses in Be'er Milka, and at the Nahal Boker farm.

“We have started the year with agricultural work for several farmers,” Principal of Adam V'Adama Eshkol Ofir Solomon said. “On the second day, we volunteered at an elementary school and renovated the settlement’s archive. We started with agriculture but also focused on connecting with the community and the settlement in the Gaza Envelope, with the desire to participate in the region's rehabilitation and connect personally to the place. The students were excited, and the farmers and residents we met were very moved to see young people coming from outside to help and join the restoration of the region.”

“The Nitzana Youth Village, which encompasses the entire spectrum of Israeli society, is a perfect place for the new 'Adam V’Adama' school,” said Co-Principal of Adam V'Adama Nitzan Tuvia Harari. “Both in terms of location—an evacuated area on the border that has faced difficulties for years, full of farmers trying to cultivate the wilderness on their own—and in terms of the educational message demanding a better future! This year, 20 students in grades 9 and 10 had the opportunity to establish the new educational institution with the hope that in the coming years, we will integrate naturally and meaningfully into the life of Nitzana. 'In the Negev, the people of Israel will be tested.'”