Filling the skies with hope
"You fire missiles at us, we fly kites towards you."
October 7 was going to be the date of this year’s Kites for Freedom, an annual kite flying festival at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in which kibbutzniks send kites bearing messages of freedom, peace and goodwill to Gazans, under the motto, “You fire missiles at us, we fly kites towards you.”
But plans for this year’s kite flying initiative died in the ashes of Kfar Aza after the barbaric Hamas onslaught on that day.
In preparation for UN World Children’s Day, a global initiative, Kites for Freedom, has been launched, in which people around the world will fly kites calling for the immediate release of all children held hostage by Hamas. Among the 240 hostages, 34 are children and babies.
The Australian Reform Zionist Association (ARZA), the Australian partner in Kites for Freedom, is organising a massive kite-flying for this Sunday at a Melbourne location to be advised. It follows a kite flying by United With Israel at Caulfield Park last Sunday.
ARZA deputy president Ayal Marek said people will have the opportunity to draw designs for kites as well as fly the kites. The initiative will also honour the memory of Aviv Kutz, founder of Kites for Freedom at Kfar Aza. Kutz, who organised the kites festival for the past 15 years, was murdered along with his wife Livnat and their three children, Rotem, Yonatan and Yiftach on October 7. The kites initiative will continue after Sunday on dates to be announced.
Meanwhile, to raise morale among families of the more than 240 hostages whose fate in Gaza is unknown, Marek has organised an initiative in which supporters can write a postcard to a hostage.
They can scan a QR code on mailboxes located around Caulfield Park and select a hostage to whose family they can send a personalised digital postcard. Once they are returned to safety, the hostages can view their messages.
“This is not about a Palestinian cause, but pure evil by terrorists who are using the Palestinians as human shields. The very first thing we must do right now, as a global effort, is bring those hostages home, and until then, send them hope,” Marek said.
To sign up for the kites-flying festival in Melbourne this Sunday and receive details of the location and time, contact info@jusee.org
To join in the Sydney kites festival, contact: events.humanitix.com/kites-of-hope
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