After Evacuation and Disruption, a Teenager from Kiryat Shmona Found His Voice

For students in Kiryat Shmona, a normal school year had become difficult to imagine. First came the disruption of COVID-era remote learning. Then war brought prolonged evacuation and months away from familiar classrooms and routines. At Danziger School, educators faced the daily work of rebuilding not only academic continuity but also trust, structure and the confidence to participate.

Ron, 16, began the year almost invisible in group discussions. Quiet and withdrawn, he was afraid to speak in front of his classmates. His challenge was not a lack of ideas. It was finding the confidence to say them aloud.

An identity seminar in Jerusalem became the first visible turning point. During the discussions, Ron began to share his views. He spoke thoughtfully and independently, even when his opinions differed from those of his classmates. What might sound like an ordinary classroom moment was, for him, a meaningful change.

The shift did not end when the seminar was over. With ongoing support from the group facilitator and his homeroom teacher, Ron continued to participate and grow throughout the year.

By the end of his first year, his educators described a teenager with a clearer sense of identity, a stronger connection to Israeli society and greater confidence to express himself and lead. He also developed a strong motivation to attend a pre-military academy before his army service.

After years in which so much of his life had been shaped by events beyond his control, Ron had found something he could claim as his own: his voice. For young people rebuilding their lives after displacement, that is an achievement worth recognizing.