Numerous questions must be asked following the tragic death on Monday of 14-year-old Elazar Yair Wilensky during a school field trip to the Naftali Mountains Forest near the Lebanon border.
Wilensky was killed, and 24 others were wounded, when one of the students picked up an unexploded Hezbollah bomb and put it in his backpack.
Among the questions that must be asked: Why did the Education Ministry approve a hike in an area that Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael said was closed to hikers? Did the approved route pass through that area? Why did the KKL warning signs at the site not explicitly explain that there was lethal unexploded ordnance in the area?
And if, as Education Minister Yoav Kisch suggested in an interview, the group strayed from the approved route, who made that decision, and why?
These questions need an investigation, not a round of competing statements where each body explains why responsibility lies elsewhere: Who knew what, which instructions were issued, were the crystal clear, and were they followed? That is what a probe must ascertain.
Three years of war have left remnants of rockets, drones, unexploded munitions everywhere
Responsibility matters because rules that are written down on paper offer no protection if nobody ensures that they are followed.
But the response cannot end with determining responsibility for this particular trip. There is also a wider danger that will linger long after the immediate headlines fade.
Three years of war have left remnants of rockets, drones, and interceptors, along with unexploded munitions littered around the country. Some objects may look harmless; some may arouse the curiosity of children.
Clearing forests and open spaces will require years of work, substantial resources, and sustained attention. The necessary budgets must be allocated. Areas known to be particularly dangerous must be clearly marked and access restricted, and routes opened to hikers must undergo thorough checks.
Even then, nobody can honestly promise that every dangerous object will be found.
That is not an argument for accepting a child’s death as inevitable. It is an argument for taking the remaining danger seriously and making sure the public also understands it.
Despite lurking dangers – and Israel has more than its fair share – normal life needs to continue. Children must be able to take field trips, and families need to be able to hike. But returning to these activities requires precautions suited to the landscape the war has left behind.
Israel is experienced in protecting children from war-related hazards
Authorities approving outings must establish that the routes are safe. Organizers must follow those routes and keep their groups together. And hikers must know what to do if they encounter an unfamiliar object: Do not touch it, keep others away, and notify the police.
Israel has experience conveying such warnings.
In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, when terrorist bombs were exploding in cities, public campaigns repeatedly warned Israelis about suspicious objects. Children learned not to touch abandoned items. Adults knew that an unattended bag or briefcase warranted attention. Traffic stopping while police sappers dealt with a suspicious object became a familiar sight.
The message became part of the country’s everyday awareness.
A similar effort is needed now, adapted to a danger that may be lying beside a forest path rather than under a bus-stop bench.
Public service announcements should be at the heart of that effort. A warning issued after a tragedy and then forgotten will not do. All Israelis must hear this message repeatedly: on the radio while driving, on television at home, and on their phones. It must be drummed in. It must reach parents planning a family outing, teachers preparing a field trip, and the children themselves.
Radio and television advertisements, billboards, school briefings, and prominent signs at trail entrances should convey this simple warning: Unexploded ordnance can kill. Do not touch unknown objects.
Those approving and leading trips need clear instructions as well. A general reference to “war damage” is not enough to explain that a possibly innocent-looking but unknown object on the ground can be deadly.
The country owes the Wilensky family answers. It also owes the public action. Investigating Monday’s tragedy and launching a sustained awareness campaign should proceed together. Neither should wait for the other; both need to start at once.