"No child's play": Children in Israel are collecting a million and a half marbles in memory of the Jewish children murdered in the Holocaust.
Education Minister Yuli Tamir and Minister Ruhama Avraham Balila, in charge of events marking 60 years of Israel's independence, on January 28, 2008 inaugurated a project called "No child's play" to commemorate the Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust. In the project, children from schools across the country will collect one-and-a-half million colorful marbles that will be used to build a monument in memory of the children murdered in the Holocaust.
The idea behind the project is to demonstrate and strengthen the awareness of Israeli children about Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes by getting actively involved and identifying, rather than through passive descriptions and photographs from the Holocaust.
The purpose of the project, jointly run by the 60th Anniversary Administration and the Education Ministry, is to perpetuate the memory of the children who perished in the Holocaust by using an actual symbol of childhood games: marbles. A million and a half marbles will be collected by children in Israel, and used to build a monument in Holon in memory of the children who perished in the Holocaust. The monument will illustrate, powerfully, the incomprehensible number of Jewish children murdered in the Holocaust.
The first marble was presented by the President of the Supreme Court, Judge Dorit Beinisch, inscribed with the word Zedek (Justice). The second marble was presented by Education Minister Yuli Tamir, inscribed with the word Omer or "utter" (from the verse "Day to day utters speech") and the third marble was presented by Minister Ruhama Avraham inscribed with the word 'Leolam' meaning "never" or "forever" signifying that we will never forget, we will never let it happen again, and the Jewish People will live forever.
Education Minister Yuli Tamir: "Children in Israel of the 21st century have not forgotten. They have not forgotten the children who perished in the Holocaust, who never got to know what freedom is, who never had the chance to enjoy their childhood and outdoor games. The aim of the project is to draw Israelis students closer to the past of the Jewish People, an inseparable part of our essence and our existence, using a symbolic object. Marbles, which children play with in their leisure time, highlight the pain of the loss, and together they will serve as a reminder for the million and a half children whose lives were cut short before they had even begun."
Minister Ruhama Avraham Balila: "The Israeli Government decided that Israel's children would stand at the center of events to mark 60 years of independence. The terrible tragedy that befell the Jewish People in the Holocaust did not pass over the children: a million and a half Jewish children and teenagers were murdered as innocent victims. The "No child's play" project is intended to strengthen the ties and connection of Israeli children to the history of the Jewish People in general, and to the period of the Holocaust in particular. The children of Israel are our future, the future of the State of Israel, and hence we must emphasize more strongly our desire to work for a better future, a future in which our children can enjoy their childhood moments without fear or apprehension."
The project will take place during the 60th year of Israel's independence, culminating in the Heroes and Resistance??? days between Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Day and Israel's 60th Independence Day, the year 5768.
The detailed timetable is as follows: