Jerusalem Mayor Welcomes Immigrant Students, Honors Fallen Soldier's Son
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion visited the "Chorev Banim" elementary school in the Katamon neighborhood on Tuesday to welcome ten students who recently immigrated to Israel from France, Britain, and the United States. The mayor met with the students, hearing about their joy in living in Jerusalem and their excitement during their first days at the school.
Lion presented each student with a personalized Book of Psalms and a Jerusalem city pin. These students are joining Jerusalem's education system, which currently serves 312,000 pupils. Some families chose to immigrate to Israel due to a rise in antisemitism in their home countries.
During the visit, Hillel Goldberg, a sixth-grader and the son of the late Major (Res.) Rabbi Avraham Yosef (Avi) Goldberg, who fell in battle in southern Lebanon in 2024, presented the mayor with a gift. The gift, a picture of schoolchildren whose fathers are serving in reserve duty, was given as an expression of appreciation and mutual responsibility within the school community.
"What a privilege to start the morning at the 'Chorev' elementary school, with children who immigrated to Israel and chose, together with their families, to build their home in Jerusalem," Lion stated. "I was moved to hear about their joy in living in the city and their great excitement in their first days at school. They came from Paris, London, New York, New Jersey, and Miami, but from now on, they have one shared home: Jerusalem."
Lion added, "I was also very moved by the meeting with Hillel Goldberg. His father, Avi, may he rest in peace, was a Jerusalem educator and a fighter who went out to defend the State of Israel and fell in battle in southern Lebanon. Hillel gave me a picture of the schoolchildren whose fathers are serving in reserve duty, a picture that expresses more than anything the spirit of giving, mission, and mutual responsibility of this community. The meeting with Hillel, alongside the children who immigrated to Israel and are building their homes here, tells a story of Zionism, heroism, continuity, and faith in the future."
