Rabbi Calls Teen Killed in Unexploded Ordnance Blast a 'War Casualty'
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Fourteen-year-old Elazar Ya'ir Wilensky was killed and 24 others injured by an unexploded ordnance blast during a school trip in northern Israel. Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu met with the students, calling Wilensky a "war casualty" and praising their bravery. The incident has raised questions about the safety of trip routes in areas affected by conflict. The injured students are being treated in hospitals, with some in serious condition.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Fourteen-year-old Elazar Ya'ir Wilensky was killed and 24 injured by unexploded ordnance during a school trip.
- Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu addressed students, calling the deceased a "war casualty" and praising their bravery.
- The incident occurred in the Ramim Ridge area of northern Israel during a trip by Orot Ma'alot high school students.
- Questions have been raised about the approval of the trip route and the danger of unexploded ordnance.
- Some students displayed remarkable courage and mutual aid in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.
- The blast resulted in four serious, seven moderate, and thirteen light injuries among the students.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed met with students of the Orot Ma'alot high school on Wednesday, shortly before the funeral of their classmate, 14-year-old Elazar Ya'ir Wilensky. Wilensky was killed by an explosion of unexploded ordnance during a school trip in the Ramim Ridge area of northern Israel. Rabbi Eliyahu addressed the students, many of whom witnessed the incident and some of whom were injured, stating that Wilensky's death was part of the ongoing war. "We are in a war, and in a war there are casualties," he said, comparing the enemy to Haman and Hitler. He explained that accidents and mishaps are also part of war casualties.
During the meeting, Rabbi Eliyahu offered words of encouragement, wishing the students strength and health, and noted that he was not offering condolences yet, as per Jewish tradition before a funeral. One student, hospitalized in intensive care at Ziv Hospital in Safed with injuries from the blast, requested to put on tefillin, expressing gratitude for his life. This student recounted the moments of terror and heroism during the incident, describing how students helped each other, with some trying to keep an injured teacher awake by shouting at him.
Other accounts from the scene described injured students providing first aid to their peers and performing CPR until emergency services arrived. Rabbi Eliyahu praised the students' bravery and mutual responsibility, quoting the verse "You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor" and highlighting their initiative and self-sacrifice. Wilensky, the eldest of five siblings, was buried in the Hosen cemetery.
The incident occurred on Monday when a piece of unexploded ordnance detonated during a trip for Orot Ma'alot high school students in the Upper Galilee. Twenty-four people were injured in the blast, including four seriously, seven moderately, and thirteen lightly. The explosion necessitated a complex rescue operation in the mountainous terrain. Questions have arisen regarding the approval of the trip's route and the danger of unexploded ordnance in northern Israel following the conflict with Hezbollah. KKL-JNF stated the route was closed due to war damage, while the Ministry of Education maintained the approved path did not include the closed section.
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