It took just seconds, one warm Saturday evening in July 2024, to transform the Druze town of Majdal Shams into a site of tragedy and national mourning.

The lives of 12 children and teenagers were extinguished after an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket fired by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror organization smashed into a local soccer pitch, leaving a massive crater, burned-out bicycles and scooters, and electric bikes with melted batteries.

In the immediate aftermath of the strike, the town on Mount Hermon became a pilgrimage site for Israelis from all walks of life as thousands traveled north to pay their respects.

Mashabim (Resources, in Hebrew) Community Stress Prevention Center immediately set up a branch in Majdal Shams to provide therapy and trauma support.

That branch would become the first of 10 that Mashabim has opened across northern Israel — three dedicated solely to Arabic speakers, and another four serving both Arabic and Hebrew speakers.

The organization, based in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, has been working to strengthen community resilience along Israel’s volatile northern border since 1981. The new branches fall under the two state-funded resilience centers that Mashabim has been running for the past five years.

Mashabim’s Arabic-speaking staff has increased tenfold, from five before October 2023 to 50.

And while originally translating existing materials from Hebrew to Arabic, the organization is now generating its own Arabic-language booklets and video clips to better meet the needs of its clients and their diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.

For example, a booklet for young readers on loss, written after the Majdal Shams tragedy, was careful to use Druze names and reflect the community’s belief in reincarnation.

Arabic-speaking teams spent months meeting with local council officials, care........

© The Times of Israel