Therapeutic Petting Zoo Rises From the Ashes in Eilat
by Bruria Efune – chabad.org
It was a sunny morning at the Yam Suf Hotel garden in Eilat, but rather than tourists splashing around in the swimming pools, children of the Kibbutz Nir Oz preschool sat outside the makeshift tents that had become their schoolrooms. They watched excitedly as Nave Geva, with a parrot perched on his shoulder, introduced a collection of furry friends, birds and mammals.
This was no ordinary preschool class. Three of the children in the cohort had been kidnapped by Hamas and kept hostage in Gaza. Two had been returned home in the temporary ceasefire deal at the end of November, but the third, Ariel Bibas, remains in captivity.
Another two of the children sitting around have fathers who are being kept hostage by Hamas in Gaza. All of the children had been trapped in their homes for hours on Oct. 7 while a massacre was taking place outside.
“Every child here has a story that hurts my heart,” Ahuva Cohen told Chabad.org. Ahuva has been substituting as the homeroom teacher for the children while they are in Eilat and has grown close with them. The displaced residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Kerem Shalom have been lodging at the hotel since Oct. 7.
“All the children have trauma, any sudden noise sends them covering their ears in fear, and they don’t let go of the teachers and assistants. It’s very difficult,” says Cohen.
Chanie Klein, who directs Chabad of Eilat with her husband, Rabbi Mendi Klein, thought that it would be great to bring the therapeutic petting zoo to the preschool children. Klein has been bringing weekly enrichment activities to the many preschools of the displaced communities in Eilat as part of a huge effort to assist and bring healing to the displaced victims of the war. Geva’s zoo, however, had a particularly moving story—one that mirrors the story of the kids it serves.
Geva lives in Sderot, and before Oct. 7 he owned a mobile therapy zoo, which he would bring to children who have PTSD due to ongoing Hamas rocket fire, which has been raining down on the community intermittently for two decades. The children would learn to regulate their emotions while holding the softer animals, and with the reptiles, grow to overcome their fears.
Geva kept most of his zoo animals in the nearby farm of Kibbutz Nahal Oz. On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists ran a course of destruction and terror through the kibbutz, murdering 13 civilians, and taking eight hostage. The terrorists also rampaged through the farm, burning the petting zoo down along with it. Farmers say the most expensive zoo animals were stolen by terrorists along with farm cows and goats.
Without His Animals When Kids Needed Him Most
The city of Sderot was evacuated, and residents spread out between hotels in Eilat and Jerusalem. Geva and his wife relocated to a hotel in Jerusalem, where he noticed many children with heavy trauma symptoms. Geva had dedicated his life to helping treat children with PTSD from Hamas rockets through zoo therapy, and now that the children needed him most, he was without his animals, feeling helpless and defeated.
Meanwhile, the Ohr Chabad community, which had hired Geva on Sukkot, just two days before the war broke out, heard what had happened and decided to rally around him. His story was shared across the Jewish world and touched many hearts. Several community fundraisers and 150 individual donors contributed to get Geva’s therapy zoo set up again.
“I was in shock,” said Geva. “I never expected help like this. I didn’t think I would be able to start over and do what I love again, but this brought me a new life.”
Back to Work With Traumatized Children
As soon as the rockets reduced enough to be somewhat livable, Geva moved back to his home in Sderot so that he could slowly restart his petting zoo. He had to stick with the smaller animals since the Nahal Oz farm has not yet been repaired, but he was determined to get started.
His first day back at work started with the children of Kibbutz Nir Oz, then Kerem Shalom and then Gvulot, organized by Chabad of Eilat.
“Look at their smiles,” Geva said. “I missed this so much. I missed being able to bring the children to a calm place and to see their smiles.”
In the Nir Oz preschool, the kids were enamored by the little pets. Some relaxed with a fuzzy friend in their hands, while others clutched a teacher as they gently pet a chinchilla, iguana or hamster with fascination.
“It’s amazing what the animals do for them,” exclaimed one of the assistant teachers, who is also a member of the kibbutz. “The kids are regulated; they’re not clenching their fists. They’re opening up to something new.”
After witnessing how the petting zoo brought so much comfort to the children, Chabad of Eilat has coordinated more visits with Geva, bringing smiles to hundreds of youngsters traumatized by the war—and to a therapist who just wanted to help the kids.
