City Notes: Attack on social worker leads to strike

3 brothers of a young woman who was placed in an emergency shelter for domestic violence victims went to the social worker’s home brandishing clubs, iron bars.

By MICHAEL OMER-MAN
Social Worker's Protest [file] 521 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Social Worker's Protest [file] 521
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
NORTH
Social workers across the country staged a one-day strike on Monday following a violent attack on a social worker in the village of Sakhnin over the weekend.
On Saturday, three brothers of a young woman who was placed in an emergency shelter for domestic violence victims went to the social worker’s home brandishing clubs and iron bars and demanded to see the social worker. The three men beat the social worker’s family, breaking her husband’s arm and injuring two others. The Israel Association of Social Workers warned that had the abused woman been at the scene, the incident could have ended in murder.
The association was calling for an end to violence against social workers and was hoping to push new legislation on the issue through the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee with the help of MKs Haim Katz and Rachel Adatto. They were also demanding protection for social workers, including adding guards at their offices, giving them greater powers and the ability to ban violent individuals.
Ticketing operation targets cars on beaches
Israel Nature and Parks Authority inspectors issued 130 tickets in the north of the country for illegally driving on beaches and shorelines during the course of last weekend. Throughout the year, but especially in the summer, the INPA steps up enforcement of the law against driving on beaches. Special enforcement activities were focused on beaches in Acre and Nahariya over the weekend.
On the shores of Lake Kinneret, two drivers were ticketed for illegally driving on beaches. Twenty-eight tickets were issued in Haifa and two all-terrain vehicles were impounded. In the Sharon Region, 66 tickets were issued for violating the beach ordinance and another 26 tickets were issued in the south of the country. The tickets carry fines ranging from NIS 500 to NIS 1,000. INPA inspectors were assisted by Israel Police officers and the INPA used an airplane in the operation.
Nature and Parks Authority Inspection and Enforcement Division director Eldad Peled said of the operations: “Along the coastline, there are only a few remaining beaches and nature reserves, where we would like to preserve nature, which has been eclipsed by the expansion of urban infrastructure.
Israelis make great use of these areas for leisure activities and driving on the coastline endangers them and is of course illegal.” He added, “In addition, many of the animals and plant life in the area only exist because of preservation activities.”
Humous accident leaves man in serious condition
A man in his 40s was left in serious condition over the weekend after being injured in a humous accident.
The man, an employee at a restaurant in Umm el-Fahm, was injured when he became stuck in a machine used to prepare the dish.
Magen David Adom paramedics took the man to a local hospital and police opened an investigation into the incident.
Parks Authority bans fires in Carmel National Park
The INPA last week prohibited the lighting of fires in Carmel National Park ahead of Lag Ba’omer celebrations and due to expected weather conditions and the fear of forest fire.
The authority asked the public to remember that lighting fires is also prohibited in nature reserves, requested it to avoid lighting fires on the beaches and hoped that it would make do with modest bonfires that are less damaging ecologically.
CENTER
TA municipal building to get a face-lift
The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality building will have a new look by the end of the year following a decision to upgrade the building’s facade in a NIS 5 million project. The makeover will see a special tinting technology applied to the building’s windows and energysaving LED illumination that will be turned on at night. The work will be carried out by the Alokel Group.
In addition to the work on the building’s windows, which are today tinted in various inconsistent colors, the exterior of the building will be refaced with a special construction element called glassfiber reinforced cement. The material was chosen for its environmental friendliness, ease of care and durability.
Yoel Dvoriansky, a partner in the Livay Dvoriansky Architects firm that designed the project, described the ecological benefits of the upgrade. “The new tinting system for controlling the penetration of sunlight into the building will allow energy-consumption savings and will make the building greener,” he said. “In addition, a computer-controlled LED lighting system will be installed within each [window] section, allowing each one to be colored in a different shade in order to dress the building in a gala mosaic of light, either fixed or in varied sequences for special events.”
Luna Park briefly closes after accident on ride
The Luna Park amusement park in Tel Aviv briefly closed its doors to visitors Friday morning while engineers conducted safety investigations. A five-year-old girl was lightly injured a day earlier when a rubber tire was dislodged from one of the rides and struck her. The park reopened several hours later after receiving safety clearance from inspectors.
Rothschild Blvd in TA to become weekend promenade
Rothschild Boulevard, one of the most central thoroughfares in Tel Aviv, will turn into a pedestrian and bicycle promenade during the weekends this summer. From June 1 until October 1, the boulevard will be closed to vehicular traffic between Hahashmonaim Street and Herzl Street between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday.
Vehicles parked on the boulevard will be permitted to leave but the entry of vehicles will be prohibited.
Boy nearly drowns at Tel Aviv hotel
A six-year-old boy was in serious condition after nearly drowning in the pool of the David Intercontinental Hotel on the southern end of Tel Aviv’s promenade. The pool’s lifeguard pulled the boy from the bottom of the pool and Magen David Adom paramedics took him to Dana-Dwek Children’s Hospital in Tel Aviv.
Police opened an investigation into the incident.
Tel Aviv to provide free bicycle pumping stations
The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality this week expanded its range of programs encouraging green transportation, especially its range of projects to increase bicycle ridership in the city. The new pilot program will see air pumps placed on bicycle paths throughout the city.
The first air pumping station was installed on Ben-Gurion Boulevard. Although the city has greatly invested in its Tel-o-fun bicycle rental program, the pumps are free for the general public.
The municipality has thus far built some 110 kilometers of bicycle paths throughout the city.
The city said of the program, “We are convinced that the experiment will be successful, after which the municipality will place more pumps along bicycle paths throughout the city.” To use the pumps, users should press on the button, activating 30 seconds of free air, which should be enough to fill a bicycle tire.
Bat Yam beaches get an upgrade
The Bat Yam Municipality and the Tourism Ministry has begun a renewal and upgrade of the beaches in the city. The project will include improving the services provided at beaches, installing and upgrading landscaping and developing other infrastructure in order to accommodate the large number of visitors, the Local website reported.
The first phase, which will see a new promenade on the southern end of the Bat Yam coastline, was expected to be completed this week. It will include adding bicycle paths, installing additional lighting, beautification and adding greenery. A second section, stretching further south, will be completed at a later date.
The goal of the project is to ultimately connect Bat Yam’s beaches to Rishon Lezion.
Funded by the Bat Yam Municipality, the Tourism Ministry and the Government Tourism Corporation, the project is expected to cost NIS 3.6 million. It is scheduled to be completed within two months.
SOUTH
Police arrest suspect in military cemetery vandalism
Police in Eilat arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of moving and damaging candle housings on graves in a local military cemetery prior to Independence Day. Metro reported several weeks ago about the damage caused to the candle-housing units at the cemetery.
Following the vandalism, the region’s police commander ordered officers to take all necessary steps to locate the responsible party, the Local website reported. Officers gathered forensic evidence and conducted a quick investigation, which led to the arrest of the man. Police brought the suspect to court and requested that his remand be extended, but the court ordered him released.