Hundreds of thousands of Israeli pupils will start the new school year today. The day is favored by politicians and government officials who visit the country's schools taking time out to sit in classrooms with first graders and reminisce about their school days. Unlike previous years, there were no last minute teachers' strikes preventing the new year from opening on time. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin declared that "the entire Land of Israel belongs to us" on Wednesday, during a visit to Itamar in honor of the new school year. "Zionism is a policy of settlement," Rivlin explained, calling Itamar, the site of the terror attack in which five members of the Fogel family were murdered in March, "an example for all Jews who return to their homeland." Rivlin said he chose to open the school year in Itamar in order to salute the residents who suffered a harsh blow and wished the children a blessed school year.
