Ma'alot-Tarshiha has no school security officer; the last one resigned citing disrespect

The city of Ma'alot-Tarshiha currently has no security officer for educational institutions. The previous officer, Eldad Vaknin, resigned at the beginning of the month, claiming the mayor shows disrespect for security procedures. According to the report, on the trip to the Ramim Ridge in which a student was killed, no advance reconnaissance of the area was carried out as required, because there was no one to carry it out.

The city of Ma'alot-Tarshiha currently has no security officer for educational institutions, the role responsible for school security and for the chain of approvals for trips, including carrying out advance reconnaissance of the area. The previous officer, Eldad Vaknin, resigned at the beginning of the month, claiming the mayor shows disrespect for security procedures and approves the entry of workers into student areas without supervision. According to the report, on the trip of the ORT Ma'alot yeshiva high school to the Ramim Ridge, in which ninth-grade student Elazar Yair Vilensky was killed yesterday by the explosion of a dud, no advance reconnaissance of the area was carried out because there was no one to carry it out. Vaknin said: "I refused to cut corners - and instead of backing, I received pressures meant to silence me. The writing about the disregard for procedures and security was on the wall." The Ma'alot-Tarshiha municipality gave no response. The disaster occurred during an annual trip, when a student found a Hezbollah cluster bomb and put it in his bag. The dud exploded when the boys stopped to pray. 24 people were wounded. The Education Ministry and the Jewish National Fund disagree about approval of the route.