The City of Bnei Brak will tighten enforcement on the sale or
possession of explosive material in public places, as Purim
approaches.
The city's secretary and spokesman, Avrohom Tanenbaum, said
that following incidents in which children were injured by
firecrackers and other dangerous explosive materials in the
hands of reckless and mischievous boys, and after it was
learned that peddlers come to schools to coax them into
buying these dangerous explosives, a decision was reached to
take strong measures to overcome this grave phenomenon. In
accordance with the law, city inspectors are authorized to
confiscate and issue reports against those who sell these
types of explosives in public. Tanenbaum said the current
security situation requires extra caution and supervision to
prevent alarm and anxiety.
Top pediatricians reported injuries among children who played
with firecrackers, including an eight-year-old boy who lost
an eye. Another child from Bnei Brak was also injured from a
firecracker explosion and he now suffers from severe hearing
loss. Two years ago, a two-year-old boy was brought to
Hadassah Ein- Karem with injured hands. In addition to the
danger of explosion, firecrackers are liable to cause fear
and anxiety among women, the sick and the elderly and to pose
a real threat to their safety and well-being.
HaRav Shmuel Halevy Wosner and HaRav Nissim Karelitz, along
with the city's other rabbonim, issued a call to parents to
prevent their children from using firecrackers, saying it is
a mitzvah to stop them from engaging in acts that border on
pikuach nefesh and to turn firecracker sellers over to
the police.
What Can Happen
A 13-year-old boy from Rishon Letzion arrived at Assaf
Harofeh Hospital in Tzrifin with one of his fingers almost
completely severed from his hand. Doctors managed to stitch
the finger back into place.
The boy told police summoned to the hospital that he had been
playing with caps from a cap gun. He emptied out the contents
of the caps and lit a firework in close proximity, causing an
explosion. The boy was taken to the hospital in a Magen David
Adom ambulance and doctors managed to save the finger.
