In May of 2001, 13 year old Koby Mandell left his home in Tekoa for a hike with his friend Yosef Ishran. Hours later, their bodies were found in a nearby cave, victims of Palestinian terrorists. Koby’s murder shocked Israel and the world and changed the Mandell family forever. Determined to ensure that Koby's and Yosef’s deaths would not be in vain and to help others who have lost a family member to terror, Seth and Sherri established the Koby Mandell Foundation.

 

23 years later, Israel now finds itself engaged in what has become the most challenging, painful, and traumatic event in our nation’s modern history. Since the October 7 attack, the nation has experienced overwhelming national loss and trauma, and we are still at war to ensure our existence as a nation. 

 

The Koby Mandell Foundation is helping the community of bereaved families by harnessing our two decades of work with terror victim’s families. 

 

Yom ha Zicharon is almost upon us. This Memorial Day will be an especially difficult one, and it is important to prepare students to mark it in a meaningful way. We include here material adapted from Sherri Mandell’s book, “The Road to Resilience.” Our program, an educational package on Yom Ha Zicharon and the importance of remembering, consists of a short five minute video that tells Koby's story, along with discussion materials on the connection between resilience, memory, and commemoration in Jewish tradition.

 

The program, which is available in English and Hebrew, runs about 30 minutes, and can be adapted by teachers. It’s appropriate for ages 12 and above.