Child Safety in Israel

This evening, my daughter came home with a handful of nails that were given to her by one of her teachers so that she could work on a project at home. One of those nails in the photo found its way into the flesh of one of our family members later in the evening. I can promise you that the nails are every bit as sharp as they appear. The epidermis is no match for them.

This is the same daughter that was left by the school’s shuttle bus at the wrong bus stop one day this week and then taken to the wrong town the next day. I hope that I don’t have to explain that the 30 minutes for each incident that we spent worrying where she and her even younger sister might be was a few seconds short of an eternity. It’s been quite a week.

I have heard that child safety standards are different in Israel but I can’t see how any of these actions are acceptable in any country.

Now when I say Israel I should clarify that I'm talking about a frum Anglo community in Israel. And I am coming to believe that what you get in such a community is fanaticism on top of fanaticism, magical thinking on top of magical thinking. These people don't live on the moon, they live on Pluto. It's getting scary to think that I have cast my lot with them.

I'll give you another sampling of child safety. On Shabbos in my town, children play in the street by themselves. Yet every single Shabbos I see emergency vehicles racing through those same streets, without sirens lest they disturb the Shabbos peace. This Yom Kippur I watched an apparent hatzolo  person, or some kind of doctor more likely, racing down the street, spinning his wheels against the pavement he was blazing so fast. I complained to a frum guy at work about this and he made some insane comment about how the emergency service people know to watch for people in the street. At 50 mph in a 20 mph zone, knowing people are out there ain't gonna help.

Yes, I have cast my lot with these lunatics.