Kiryat Shmona mayor slams ‘premature’ reopening of schools

Mayor of northern city says schools reopened too early; only 50% of students said to have returned to Kiryat Shmona.

By World Israel News Staff

Schools in Kiryat Shmona, Israel’s northernmost city near the border with Lebanon, reopened for the first time on Sunday after 17 months of war.

However, what should have been a celebratory milestone was met with little fanfare and even opposition from the municipality’s mayor.

Mayor Avichai Stern has long criticized the Education Ministry for what he says was intense pressure to reopen schools in the northern city, which was severely battered by more than a year of near-daily bombardment by Hezbollah drones, missiles, and rockets.

As Education Minister Yoav Kisch posed for pictures at a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the reopening of a school in the city, Stern released a media statement claiming that the minister has not provided practical support to the municipality and came strictly for the photo opportunity.

Stern stressed that Kisch had “invited himself” and that his visit was not coordinated with the municpality. He also accused the minister of “hindering” the city in its efforts to open schools at a later date.

According to a report from Hebrew-language outlet Walla, only about 50% of Kiryat Shmona’s elementary through high school age students had returned to the city.

Stern recently published a video showing what appeared to be major security failures along the Lebanese border near the city, urging northerners not to return home until their physical safety is secured.

Golan Buchris, the head of a local parent advocacy group, told Walla that the reopening had been premature and hastily executed.

“Dozens if not hundreds of students were left without support,” he said. “We suggested waiting [to reopen schools] until July. The students’ mental state is worrying.”

Buchris said that after being uprooted from their homes and returning to a city visibly damaged by war, the education system has not provided “psychologists or emotional therapists who can help them” readjust.

Kiryat Shmona was evacuated shortly after the October 7th Hamas terror onslaught. The city’s community centers, after-school programs, and other extracurricular and cultural activities remain closed.