Yahadut Hatorah MK Rabbis Uri Maklev, Moshe Gafne and Yaakov Asher are presenting a bill that would compel the Israel Police ‘100’ emergency dispatcher to accept distress calls in the form of SMS text messages in addition to voice phone calls.

The bill is presented because of the Hamas kidnapping of three yeshiva students on the eve of 15 Sivan. In that case, police dispatchers said they could not understand the caller’s cries for help, deciding the call was a prank. The MKs feel if the distress call would have been received by text message, there would not have been an issue of not understanding the voice.

The MKs explain that if one is taken captive or finds oneself in a hostile situation, and s/he cannot speak for fear of what will occur, the person should be able to send a text message or an email. They add that such a system would facilitate calling for assistance for people with hearing impairments.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)