MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights — "I don't want revenge, I just want peace."Powerful words from Layth Absuleh, a father, standing at the soccer field in Northern Israel where his son, and three other family members, were among 12 kids killed when a Hezbollah rocket fired from Lebanon hit the field they were playing on.When an alarm finally went out at 6:29 p.m. that Saturday afternoon, exactly one year ago today, the children had eight seconds to make it to a nearby bomb shelter. Eight seconds.The children never stood a chance. One boy took a direct hit. The only piece of him they found was a jawbone, and that was 72 hours later.They are now known as the 12 Stars..Despite their never-ending grief, fathers, uncles and other relatives come down to the soccer field daily, to tell stories of their precious children.Majdal Shams is a Druze village. The Druze are an offshoot of the Muslim religion found mainly in Syria and Lebanon. Numbering up to one million, they are persecuted by other Muslims with many of them moving to Israel to try and live in peace. They are even offered Israeli citizenship.Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War.One year after the soccer field slaughter, the Druze are back in the news again. In the last week, Syrian troops have slaughtered up to 1,000 of them close to the border with Israel. Horrific videos from the area show Druze elders being shaved to humiliate them before being executed. Other videos show Druze men being forced at gunpoint to jump to their death from tall buildings.The Israel Defence Force has bombed advancing Syrian troops and even blown up the Ministry of Defence building in Damascus in an effort to stop the bloodbath.."I don't want revenge, I just want peace."Along with the 12 dead children — three girls and nine boys ranging in age from 10-16 — another 42 were injured. Some were in hospital for weeks. Others are still going to rehab.Absuleh said some of the children couldn't speak again for 10 months.It took five to six months for other kids to come back to the field to play. They are the same age as the children killed.On the day a group of Canadian journalists arrived, a local school kids were playing under the supervision of a teacher who lost her brother in the attack.Absuleh took a moment to wipe lipstick off his son's picture at the field, kissed by a female mourner.One of the tenet beliefs in the Druze religion is reincarnation. When one Druze member dies, another is born.That comforts the families of the 12 Stars, knowing they will once again walk the Earth again one day..The story of the 12 dead children is one of the more well known of the tragedies that have hit the Middle East since the Hamas invasion of Oct. 7, 2023.It marked the largest number of civilians killed since the war began.Prominent soccer teams from around the world have sent jerseys and letters of support. NFL players have visited the field.After the slaughter residents issued a statement saying: "The Golan rejects any official incitement and the attempt to exploit the name of Majdal Shams as a political platform at the expense of our children’s blood. We reject the shedding of a single drop of blood under the pretext of avenging our children."During the war, Israel has bombed the hell out of Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, basically rendering them not a fighting force.As the Canadians packed up to leave, another large group of journalists arrived from Serbia.Absuleh once again launched into the story of the 12 Stars."I don't want revenge, I just want peace.".Naylor and the other media had their trip to Israel sponsored by the Exigent foundation, dedicated to fostering knowledge regarding the threat posed by extremism to liberal, western democracies.
