Hundreds attended the annual graduation ceremony at Shanan, the religious academic college for education in Haifa, where the institution awarded bachelor's and master's degrees to hundreds of graduating students across its various programs. The event was hosted by Vice President Dr. Esther Kalfon, and College President Prof. Avi Levy presented honorary fellow titles to singer and creator Yishai Ribo and Rabbi Yemima Mizrahi.
Ribo thanked the college and delivered an emotional address about his immigration to Israel at age nine. He said he arrived not knowing Hebrew, but already understood that "Eretz Israel is the heart of the Jewish people." He described learning the language through prayers at home, stories, and longing for Zion, and said that over time he was able to create and sing in Hebrew and build his home and family in Israel.
He added that he is moved each time he sees how Judaism, music, and longing connect people across distance and reveal that they are one people. He thanked God, his parents for educating him to love Torah, the people, and the land, his wife Yael for accompanying him with patience and love, his children, who are his most important audience, and the public that has followed him over the years.
Mizrahi also thanked the college and spoke at length to teachers and educators. She praised the children of the Jewish people, invoked the biblical call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, and said teachers continue to uphold order, educate, and guide students despite chaos, criticism, and salaries that do not reflect their importance. She closed by blessing them with strength, courage, faith, and a sense of mission, calling them "the priests of this generation."
