The excitement in the air is palpable at the Ben Yakir Youth Village near Hadera. Everyone is waiting for the big event: the graduation ceremony for the village’s 12th-graders, who are known as the “Lions of the Palm Tree.”

The graduates take the stage to perform their play. In an honest, courageous, and moving scene that brought the audience to tears, one of the actors, N., simulates a student’s first night in the village’s boarding school. He sits on his bed and weeps. A friend turns to him and tries to support him by saying, “We were all in your place, the beginning is always difficult.” N. asks him, “What do we do about longing for home?” The answer comes from the next bed: “Focus on the things you love to do here.”

Ben Yakir Youth Village was founded in 1974 and serves adolescent boys, most of whom are immigrants from Ethiopia. The village provides a wide range of therapies and social services, with an emphasis on independence, Jewish values, and reaching one’s potential. Programs at Ben Yakir include: therapeutic horseback riding and care; sports and music; and a summer camp specializing in English and animal care.

The Jewish Agency’s four youth villages—Ben Yakir, Hadassah Ne’urim, Kiryat Ye’arim, and Ramat Hadassah—provide normative, safe, rehabilitative, cost-effective boarding school settings for youth ages 12-18 (a total of 860 in 2016-17) who suffer from severe emotional, behavioral, and family problems. Intensive educational, clinical, and social work services help them succeed in and complete high school and enter the Israeli army with their peers.The success of the youth villages is due to their holistic, multidisciplinary approach, which includes educational support, customized intervention programs, intensive mentoring, and a variety of enrichment activities, combined with the values of Zionism and social activism. Alumni receive ongoing services from Jewish Agency staff, including guidance on employment and finances, scholarships for vocational and college studies, and assistance preparing for college entrance exams.

Youth Villages were initially established to care for young Jews from around the world who arrived in Israel alone. Today, they provide an opportunity for Israelis to break the cycle of social marginalization and integrate as contributing, valued members of Israeli society. Since the establishment of the Youth Aliyah movement in 1933, the villages have educated at least 300,000 children.

When he recently visited his grandfather in Ethiopia, Batamu, a member of this year’s high school graduating class at Ben Yakir, never dreamed that his grandfather would just a few months later celebrate the end of the school year with him in Israel. Yet there he was, sitting with Batamu and his teachers, counselors, and friends. During the ceremony, pictures of the 23 graduates are shown on the screen, one after the other. There was a picture of Kfir, a young boy at the start of his time in the village, and another picture of him when he had grown up.

The graduation ceremony featured the presentation of certificates of excellence for outstanding students, bringing a great degree of pride for the youths, parents, teachers, and all of the village’s workers, donors, and volunteers. N. graduated with a matriculation certificate in geography and a vocational diploma from a smartphone technician. He continues to study at the village’s college preparatory program.

The graduates thanked the Ben Yakir teams which led them to their successes and achievements at the village—the therapeutic team that was always there to listen to them, the teachers who insisted on pushing them to meet their goals, and more. There was great joy, mixed with a few tears, a lot of hugs and gratitude, and satisfaction. It was one large family celebrating and reminiscing together.

At the end of their play, all the graduates stepped onto the stage wrapped in prayer shawls, to conclude their performance with a song. It was one large family, celebrating and reminiscing together.

Learn more about Jewish Agency Youth Villages >
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This story was originally reported by Nathan Roi for The Jewish Agency for Israel