Gaza border high school student will light independence day torch

Gil Shlomo, having lived all her life under the constant threat of rockets from the Gaza Strip that left its mark, is an outstanding student who has devoted her time to fighting for social justice.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A TORCH burns on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, 2017 (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
A TORCH burns on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, 2017
(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
Gil Shlomo, a secondary school student from Sderot and one of the activists who organized November’s youth march from the Gaza border communities to Jerusalem, will light a torch on May 8 at the national 71st Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl, the Committee of Symbols and Ceremonies, headed by Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev, announced on Sunday.
The committee explained that Shlomo, having lived all her life under the threat of rockets from the Gaza Strip that left its mark, is an outstanding student who has devoted her time to fighting for social justice.
When she was in Gr. 4, Shlomo joined the Scouts and since then has become a leader in the movement, which works to strengthen the resilience of children and youth in the Gaza border communities. Last year, she and her friends organized a youth march from the Gaza border to Jerusalem in order to increase awareness of the hardships of life in the area.
The committee noted that Shlomo will light the torch in honor of residents of the Gaza vicinity and in honor of the Hebrew Scout Movement, the largest youth movement in Israel, marking 100 years of its founding and educating generations of young Israelis for social involvement and action for society.
Shlomo thanked the committee for its decision and noted that it was an exciting event for her, provided that it means representing the youth surrounding the Gaza Strip and the Scout Movement. “I knew I was a candidate, but I did not believe I would get picked,” she told Walla news. “I’m receiving a lot of messages and phone calls from former and present teachers and educators, all saying they are proud.”
Shlomo added that “We live our lives just like other children do in Tel Aviv, but the only difference is that we live in a different security environment that has become routine.”
Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev congratulated Shlomo, saying, “Gil is the representative of the younger generation in the Gaza border who, despite Hamas attacks and threats, continues to contribute her time and energies to others, learns and fulfills dreams that are borne by the spirit of volunteerism and faith in the justice of the road.”
“Gil symbolizes the spirit of leadership that thrives on Israeli youth in general and youth in the Gaza border communities in particular. Gil, an activist in the Hebrew Scout Movement, represents the best of youth, who loves this country, volunteers in its ranks and dreams and fights for a better future for each and every one of us,” Regev said.