During lockdown we put together a friendly little writing competition for our partnered schools. The topic: “What does Israel mean to you?” After many entries and a difficult decision to choose a winner, Lielle Greene’s essay took first place. Congratulations Lielle and a massive well done to all who sent in their essays!

Please see the winning entry by Lielle Greene below:

What does Israel mean to me?

Lielle Greene

Year 4, Eden Primary School

I live in Israel but I came to London for a year, which has been a bit of a change.

I live in a place in Israel called Modiin, where all my friends live. Israel is a small place, so when you go out you always see people that you know.

In Modiin there is the Moriah Centre near where we live, where there are lots of shops and a playground, where I like to play. There is a nice bakery and a toy shop with lots of toys and games. And there are lots of other shops.

In Israel everyone is so friendly to me. And the food is really nice – my favourite is rugelach!

I feel very safe even when I’m not with my parents. For example, when I’m on the bus coming home from school, I feel safe because I don’t feel that anything dangerous can happen to me.

In Israel people don’t only speak in Hebrew, they also speak in other languages, like English.

In Israel there are a lot of good doctors to help people.

In Israel it is nice and hot a lot of the time, so you can go out to the beach and to the pool outdoors.

In Israel the school day is shorter, so after school we have ‘tzaharon’, which is like after school provision. There we eat lunch, then either go outside and play or stay inside and do lots of nice activities, or sometimes read books or draw. Sometimes we get to make things like tasty food.

My school in Israel has a big library and at breaks we are allowed to go to the library to borrow and read books.

When I go to school I speak to my teachers in Hebrew, and our classes are mainly in Hebrew. But sometimes we have lessons where we learn English, and the ones who know how to speak English go out and practice writing in English, and the others have classes where they learn how to speak simple English.

Some of my friends speak English too, so when I speak with them we speak a mixture of English and Hebrew.

After school there are clubs we can go to. My sister goes to a club where she does gymnastics. I go to lots of clubs. I go to an English tutor, where I learn to write in English. I also go a club where I learn judo, but my favourite club is Dungeons and Dragons. It is on yom chamishi – Thursday – which is my lucky day. It’s my lucky day because it is the day for judo and Dungeons and Dragons.

Israel is a place where you can feel safe. Israel is a place where all Jews are allowed to go. It is a place where you can feel like it’s your home.

So Israel is a very nice place to live and I am really looking forward to going back there.