Abraham Fund program seeks to decrease Israeli Arab traffic accident rate
Around 40 percent of those injured or killed in traffic accidents are Arabs and while 16 percent of Israeli drivers are Arabs, they make up 30 percent of those injured or killed.
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONUpdated: APRIL 15, 2016 06:05Scene of car accident in Jerusalem, April 15 , 2015(photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Arab experts and educators met with police in Nazareth on Thursday to discuss ways to reduce the disproportionately high number of traffic accidents in the sector.Around 40 percent of those injured or killed in traffic accidents are Arabs, and while 16 percent of Israeli drivers are Arabs, they make up 30 percent of those injured or killed, Amnon Beeri-Sulitzeanu, co-executive director of the Abraham Fund, an NGO dedicated to promoting equality and coexistence between Arab and Jewish citizens, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.The data are based on a police presentation presented to Arab mayors within the past year.The Abraham Fund is preparing to publish a video on social media aimed mainly at Arab youth in an effort to reduce traffic accidents.A meeting with the focus group on Thursday, which included driving educators, was aimed at helping design the campaign.Last week, Abraham Fund representatives met with Arab youth in order to find the approach that would most effectively change driving behavior.According to Beeri-Sulitzeanu, the video will focus on reckless driving, use of phones while driving, and driving without seat-belts, behavior that experts say is “very common among Arab youth and causing many injuries and deaths.”Because of the popularity of Facebook among Arab youth, a video campaign will be launched on the platform, with Arab news website Brokra.net helping to spread the message.The US Embassy is supporting the project, which is being carried out in cooperation with the Traffic Police. The focus group meetings were held at Bokra’s offices in Nazareth.“We always look for ways to involve the police and respond to the needs of the Arab community.This is one of the areas we found where better cooperation between the community and police could be achieved,” Beeri-Sulitzeanu said.
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