Raz Regev, a fourth-grade student from Afula, wrote about worrying about her cousin Oded who was called up for reserve duty • Odel Cohen Avramovich, a third-grade student also from Afula, wanted to express in writing the hardship of parting from her beloved dog, Toy • Timofey Mayani, a fifth-grade student from Ramle and a new immigrant from Ukraine, dealt with the experience of war and missing his father who is still in Ukraine • All three were winners of the Young Writers Competition held by the Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI) • “Writing made me feel better; it helped me cope.”
“Hili and I stood together above the cake. Hili made a wish, closed her eyes and concentrated, and I… I had only one wish in my heart, that Oded would finally come back. It was already late, and some guests had started leaving… Suddenly, there was a faint knock on the door. Even the loud music didn’t stop me from hearing it. I went to open the door, and for a moment, everything was silent… Oded stood there, and I was so excited, I froze. ‘Hi,’ said Oded.”
— From Raz’s story
“Writing helped me deal with the longing.”
Raz loves to write. She pours all her emotions into writing. Her concern for soldiers, fear of war, and longing for her cousin Oded, who was called up for reserve duty. Writing, she says with a shy smile, helps her unpack her feelings. So, when she had the chance to participate in ICEI’s Young Writers’ Competition, she knew she would write about Oded.
“Oded has been in my life since I was a little girl, and even though he’s almost ten years older and lives in Jerusalem near my grandmother, we always play and laugh together. I’m very close to him, and whenever we go to visit my grandma, I wait for him to come too so we can hang out. In my story, I wrote about missing him while he was away on reserve duty.”
Raz Regev is a fourth-grade student at Alon Yizreel School in Afula, a school within ICEI’s network. She loves hip-hop dancing and playing with her friends. She’s the daughter of Yifat and Dov and sister to Hili (10.5), Eitan (6), and Nimrod (1.5). Oded, her cousin, rarely returned home during his reserve service. “I waited for him for a long time. At school, we always prepare gift packages and letters for soldiers. I used to write to Oded and imagined him receiving the letters. On my sister Hili’s birthday, I saved him a seat because I really hoped he’d come. My Mom even made the Greek salad he loves, and we waited for him. And then, just as Hili was about to blow out the candles, Oded showed up.”
Raz was one of 40 third-sixthgrade winners of the ICEI Young Writers Competition, which this year was named in memory of Mary Ann Stein, the founding Chair of the Board of ICEI. Over 5,000 stories were submitted to the competition, written by children between sprints to the bomb shelter and games in the yard, between rocket sirens and feelings of longing. Over three months, the children learned to write stories, including how to describe events and develop characters, through ICEI’s comprehensive writing program. The Awards Ceremony was held in Herzliya, hosted by actor and TV star Tal Mosseri. Excerpts from three of the winning stories are featured in this article.
Raz took third place in the competition. “Right after I found out I won, I called Oded to tell him,” she says with a smile. “He was very moved and said he was proud of me. It made me happy, though I still miss him a lot. Writing helped me deal with the difficulty of missing him. I knew it would be hard to write a story from my heart, but I worked hard with my teacher, and I did it. I was emotional during the ceremony, and my whole class watched when they called my name.”
“It felt good to write. It helped me deal with the situation.”
“When we got home, I realized something was missing. Someone was missing. Toy was missing! His things weren’t in the house. My dad called us all to the living room and told us he had put Toy up for adoption because of what he did to my sister. I was very sad, and even though Toy did something wrong, my sister was sad too. We didn’t want to give him up. We were attached to him. How could we just forget about him?”
—From Odel’s story
Odel Cohen Avramovich found healing through writing. In her room at home, she keeps several diaries that she’s written over the years. She used to lock them with a key, but now she writes in a regular notebook that she keeps to herself. The story she chose to submit to ICEI’s Young Writers Competition was about the pain of parting from her dog, Toy, after he unintentionally hurt her sister. “I could’ve written about anything, but I knew I had to write about Toy. I wanted people to know this story. I gave as many details as I could about my dog and my sister. It felt good to write. It helped me deal with the situation and release my thoughts and feelings.”
Odel is 9 years old, a third-grade student at Shoham School in Afula, another school in ICEI’s network. She’s the daughter of Chen and Ofir and sister to Tohar (11) and Ilay (7). When she’s not writing, she enjoys playing on her phone and hanging out with friends. But writing helps her express her emotions. Odel won second place in ICEI’s Young Writers Competition.
“The competition really helped me connect to writing and to my feelings. I discovered that you can share what you’re going through in life through writing. It was sad to relive the experience with Toy, but I’m glad I shared it because it’s important for people to know that when you say goodbye, whether it’s a pet or a person, you have to let go of everything that “was.” It’s hard at first, but it can also be a good thing. I was shaking on stage at the Awards Ceremony. I’d never been on a stage before, and I was nervous, but mostly happy that I had won.”
“I came here without knowing a word of Hebrew, and now I write stories.”
“One morning, Timofey woke up startled. He heard a siren, but he didn’t understand what the sound was, so he ran to his parents’ room to check. The family went down to the basement and his parents turned on the TV and they realized war had broken out with Russia. Timofey’s parents didn’t know what to do or where to go. They decided to fly to Israel and move in with Timofey’s grandmother. Only Timofey, his mother, and older brother flew to Israel, and his father stayed in Ukraine because his mother was ill and couldn’t travel. Timofey was very sad.”
—From Timofey’s story
Timofey couldn’t believe he placed second among fifth graders. He’s a blond-haired boy with a mischievous smile, who only learned Hebrew when he immigrated from Ukraine about three years ago. He arrived not knowing a word, but today, he can talk about soccer endlessly and his accent has nearly disappeared. “I came here not knowing a word of Hebrew,” Timofey says quietly. “I have two classmates who speak my language, and we used to talk about the war and life in Ukraine. When I had to choose a topic to write about, I knew I’d write about wars.”
Timofey is a fifth-grade student at the Ma’anit School in Ramle, a school in ICEI’s network. He’s the son of Anna and Sergey and brother to Sasha (17). Despite his love for Israel, he misses Ukraine. His father is still there, and they manage to speak from time to time. He fondly recalls trips to the forest and fishing in a lake. At the same time, he enjoys life in Israel and plays as a defender (left back and center back) for the soccer team SC Ramle. “My teacher, Shai, taught me how to play soccer, and thanks to him, I’m on the city team,” he smiles.
“Shai sees me and helps me when I’m struggling, and that means a lot to me. My Hebrew teacher, Orna, also helped me a lot. I’m proud that I learned to speak fluent Hebrew in just three years and managed to write a story – and even win a competition. On the one hand, writing a story is easy. It’s in your head, and you let it out. On the other hand, I think of it in Ukrainian, and then I have to write it in Hebrew. So, it’s both easy and hard.”
Timofey was overwhelmed by the win. “When I stood on the stage and they started reading out the winners’ names, I was happy every time it wasn’t me, because that meant I ranked high. In the end, there were only two of us left, and I was thrilled when the host Tal Mosseri called my name.”
The writing competition is organized by the Israel Center for Educational Innovation, as part of its school programs aimed at empowering principals and teachers and driving lasting, school-wide change, with a focus on developing writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills.
According to Don Futterman, Founder and Executive Director of ICEI, which partners with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry for Social Equality, and local authorities, “Students have complete freedom to choose what they write about – stories from their lives or from their imagination. Literacy skills are the key to academic success and open many doors in our children’s lives.”
“ICEI’s Young Writers Competition is a practical expression of this belief – it allows students to go through a deep creative process and discover the true power of words. We see how children develop not just as young authors, but as confident, expressive individuals.”
