So far in 2016, 25 Israeli children have died in car accidents, drownings, or after being forgotten in locked cars in high temperatures, spurring the government to fund and implement the National Child Safety Action Plan, formulated along with the Beterem Safe Kids Israel organization. Health Minister Yakov Litzman and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon recently agreed to fund the plan for five years at a cost of 10 million shekels ($2.7 million). Half the money will come from various government ministries, and the second half will be provided by the Finance Ministry. The Health Ministry will be in charge of the initiative and will establish a national database that documents all cases in which children are harmed in accidents and maps hazards likely to cause accidents involving children. The data will be categorized, and a practical work plan will be formulated to reduce the number of cases of children harmed in accidents. In addition, the Education, Economy, and Welfare ministries will each be required to train staff who work with children and adults to teach them about preventing accidents involving children. One innovation in the plan is that the state will finance, for the first time, the development of alert tools to prevent parents from forgetting their children in cars. The plan also calls to improve infrastructure at locations frequented by children. Every year, over 100 children in Israel are killed in various accidents. Some 190,000 are rushed to emergency rooms, and 24,000 of them are admitted. Those accidents carry an estimated annual cost of some 1.5 billion shekels ($400 million). MK Dr. Yifat Sasha-Biton (Kulanu), chairwoman of the Knesset Committee for the Rights of the Child, pushed to fast-track the funding for the National Child Safety Action Plan, which was approved four years ago but was still without a budget. "The action plan, which comprises much hard work and is launching after intense efforts, is a focused on that requires cooperative, integrated, systemic action on the part of all entities involved with children's health and safety -- both government ministries and others. The plan stresses public awareness, guidance for parents, professional training related to accident prevention, and supervision of facilities where there are children. We have an obligation to ensure the safety of the next generation now," said Sasha-Biton. Litzman noted that "given the horrifying statistics, we must take responsibility for the children of Israel and address the epidemic of forgetting children in cars in particular, and harm to children in general, as an emergency." Orly Silbinger, CEO of Beterem, said that "national, systemic action will bring to a significant reduction in accidents involving children and saving them, as has been done and proved in many countries in the Western world. It has already been proved that 95% of accidents [involving children] are preventable. The action plan will provide a systemic solution to the issue of children's safety, including: public awareness campaigns to raise awareness of children and parents; training professionals; improvements to infrastructure; collection of data; in-depth research, and more." Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Monday that the 2017 state budget would include funding for additional police officers and an "unprecedented" police budget. Speaking at a toast in advance of Rosh Hashanah held at the National Police Headquarters and attended by Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh, the chief rabbis, senior police and military commanders, retired police personnel and bereaved families, Erdan said that thanks to the "determined struggle by the security forces, we have managed to beat back the wave of terrorism." Alsheikh said, "We can look back and note a series of deep-seated changes we have made. At the same time, we are looking ahead at the next bar to clear." Alsheikh said the nation's police force would increase its presence over the High Holidays, ensuring that "the people of Israel can pray, visit holy sites, hike, and rest."
