About 7,000 children from schools around Ashkelon sent notes to the Kotel as part of the “Box of Wishes” project initiated by the Jewish Culture department of the Ashkelon municipality. Ashkelon is a coastal city that had hundreds of rockets launched at it by Hamas in Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls. Thousands of notes were collected in special boxes, made by children to look like the Kotel, from all around the city, including Barzilai Hospital.
The Ashkelon representatives who brought the notes to the Kotel on Tuesday were greeted by the Rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who recited chapters of Psalms with them for the success of Ashkelon, the recovery of the wounded, and peace for Israel and its inhabitants.
The mayor of Ashkelon, Mr. Tomer Glass, the deputy mayor, Mr. Ilan Ivgi, and the director of the Jewish Culture department in Ashkelon, Mr. Sharon Almaliach had originally planned to bring the Box of Wishes with its thousands of notes already on Jerusalem Day, but due to the rockets launched at the city of Ashkelon again, the trip was postponed. They did not give up, and the boxes waited until they were able to come up to Jerusalem and to the Kotel along with children from the Lachish region who joined them in placing the notes between the stones. Read more about western wall notes.
