Hundreds attended the event under the auspices of KKL-JNF, including family members, friends, senior IDF officers, government and local officials from Israel and Jordan, and schoolchildren from all over the country.
The program began with the traditional 'March of the Seven', a walk through the region of Naharayim, with stops along the way where the participants learned about the history of the area including the tragic massacre of the 7 young girls.
The participants learned that when Israel and Jordan signed the peace treaty in 1994, in the ongoing spirit of cooperation, the two countries decided that Israel would not be forced to evacuate a tongue of agricultural land in the area of Naharayim that had been ceded to Jordan in the agreement. The swath of land became known as the “Isle of Peace.”
The area is situated at the confluence of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers where in 1927 Pinchas Rutenberg, founded the first hydroelectric power station with the agreement of King Abdullah of Jordan, the first of a series of 13 hydroelectric power stations throughout Israel.
The hikers also heard that it was here at the Island of Peace where in 1997, three years after the two countries signed a peace treaty, a Jordanian soldier of Palestinian decent opened fire at the schoolchildren killing seven girls and badly wounding six others. King Hussein of Jordan then came to Beit Shemesh to extend his condolences, and ask forgiveness in the name of his country, a step which was seen as both touching and courageous.
That afternoon the participants gathered at the seven Hills of Plucked Flowers to take part in the official ceremony. The master of ceremonies at the event was Yehuda Gubani, who read the names of the seven girls who were killed.
“Twenty years have passed since then, but their memory remains imbedded in our minds. In your honor, our daughters, our students: Yaela Meiri, Sivan Patichi, Adi Malka, Shiri Badaev, Keren Cohen, Nirit Cohen, Natalie Alkalai.”
He then called up a relative of each of the 7 slain girls to come up on stage.
Moshe Alkalai, the brother of Natalie, of blessed memory, said that he was 18 years old when he lost his sister.
“Nobody in the world can take you from me, for my soul is yours and your soul is mine," he said, addressing his sister.
Tzachi Cohen, brother of Nirit, of blessed memory, was just 3 years old when he lost his sister.
“The holy redemption process is accompanied by challenges and difficulties, both on the personal level of the 7 families and on the national level. The pains are similar to those in childbirth.
But the mother does not breakdown because she knows that from this pain will sprout the life that she has been longing for," he said.
Lidor, the nephew of Yaela Meiri, of blessed memory, also said that he was just 3 years old at the time.
“Twenty years have passed and I imagine our Yaela engaged in a free profession, perhaps a dancer or in some other role on stage, because Yaela was always the center of attraction.”
Margalit Badaev, mother of Shiri, of blessed memory, said that the news of her daughter's death had paralyzed her emotionally.
“As a new immigrant from Russia it was her first trip. That was the first time she had set out with the school and she never returned.”
Ruhama Cohen, mother of Keren, of blessed memory, said that she is already a happy grandmother but she remains with a deep longing for her lost daughter.
“I see Keren’s friends today, married, working, and I think of her, of Keren. What would she be doing? I suppose she would have taken up physical education with the excitement of a supportive teacher, and the joy of life that so characterized her.”
Aliya Malka, the mother of Adi Malka, of blessed memory, cannot speak. She communicated with the audience in sign language that was verbalized by a translator.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t imagine my daughter Adi married. She and her husband and children arrive, she cuddles in my arms. I help her tend to the babies. Her personality was mother like, from the moment she was born until her death.”
The last relative to speak on stage was Elia Cohen, a 7th grade student, and the niece of Sivan Patichi of blessed memory, who said the positive message that remains after Sivan's death is to continue to tour the country and to enjoy the land from north to south.
"Sivan did not miss a single trip. She lived to the fullest and we will follow in her footsteps.”
The current principal of the Amit School in Beit Shemesh, Sahar Sigawi, came onto stage. He said that the school will forever remember the girls who never returned from their school excursion.
“There is no substitute for personal acquaintance and that is missing for all of us.
However the will to experience their joy of life, their special laughter, their generosity and glow, is brought to us, to some extent, when we meet their families that are so dear to us.”
The head of the Emek HaYarden Regional Council, Idan Greenbaum, said:
“The students of then are the mothers of today, parents have become grandparents, but the pain remains, and will accompany us, and you, during every visit to Naharayim, and will continue so till the end of time.”
The head of Education at the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, Niv Bar Guy, said:
“I want to express the pain and the loss, and to remind all that we are here to remember the terrible murder. Despite the great time span of two decades, we are here to share the great pain felt by the families."
Rabbi Yeshayahu Ehrenreich, the Commissioner of Education in the Beit Shemesh Municipality, said:
“When a person experiences difficulty, it means that the Creator loves him. The families of the 7 girls have proven over these years just how super-natural this event was."
Orna Shimoni is the curator of the Plucked Flowers Memorial Garden for the 7 girls at the Island of Peace. Orna is also the bereaved mother of an IDF soldier who was killed fighting in Lebanon.
“The laughter of the children and the happiness of the tree planters will bring renewal," she said.
"They will strengthen Zionism and bring the light to the Island of Peace once again. We will not allow you to be forgotten. You will always remain flower buds who never completed 8 years of school.”
When eulogizing the girls, Minister of Education Naftali Bennett took the opportunity to warn Israel’s enemies from attempting any aggression. His warning came in response to the missiles that were fired towards Israel from Sinai and Syria that very morning.
“I say here to our neighbors across the border in the north and the south, we do not want war. However whoever tries to harm our children will be stopped without mercy. If your choice is to arm for the next battle, our choice is to live, and we will be victorious.”
Dr. Omri Boneh is KKL-JNFs Chief Scientist and head of KKL-JNF’s Northern Region:
“The presence of Jordanian officials at every memorial over the last 20 years is a window for hope. It shows that despite the tragedy, both nations want to continue striving for peace."
The final speakers were Keren and Hila, twin sisters who survived the tragic school trip in 1997, but had both suffered severe gunshot wounds.
Keren recalled those horrific moments to the audience:
"I saw my girlfriends killed before my eyes and I was prevented from helping them because I was shot in my arm and leg."
About her friends, Hila said:
"I chose re-live the death of my girlfriends and to continue their path that was cut short. I chose to bring life to the world and to bring my children up with love. I chose to understand how everything is dwarfed by the need to live. I chose to understand to what extent life is stronger than everything else."
The ceremony ended with the singing of the Israeli national anthem Hatikva, followed by mass tree planting around the Island of Peace, by all the participants.