(Times-UK) Paul McCann - You know you must have found a good nursery when you're happy to ignore Hamas rockets to gain access to top quality childcare. Almost four years ago, I left The Times to work in the Gaza Strip. As a bit of a leftie, with sympathies on one side of the conflict, you can imagine how surprised I am that when I return to the UK this year I will be bringing back two Hebrew-speaking toddlers who know more about Hanukka than Christmas and more about Zionism than Palestine. For this I have to thank the rather wonderful pre-school system bequeathed to Israel by the kibbutz movement. Gaza is deemed too dangerous for expat families, and so my wife and three children live in Israel, with two attending the Kibbutz Yad Mordechai nursery. The kibbutz is just two km from the border with Gaza and was the site of a famous clash between Jewish and Egyptian forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Given Yad Mordechai's history and the recent conflict, it seems unlikely that my children are getting the same version of Middle Eastern history that their father subscribes to.
2005-02-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive