The Knesset Welfare Committee on Tuesday, 14 Adar-I discussed what is a common occurrence today, the release of photos and information pertaining to an emergency scene by emergency responders operating at the scene.

The discussion was prompted by a Facebook posting by Assaf Passi, a spokesman for Yishuv Otniel, who expressed criticism over the fact that responders acted without permission and released the name of terror victim Mrs. Dafne Meir HY”D before her husband was made aware she had been murdered.

In his post he explains that as spokesman for the community, he relies on various sources for credible information, including the media reports on events in Yehuda and Shomron.

“Two minutes from the notification we were aware of the house and five minutes later I knew that Dafna had been murdered”. At that moment I requested from other WhatsApp groups that include members of the media and news websites not to release any information pertaining the victim before receiving the okay”.

He explains that unfortunately, the information was released by “different EMS organizations” that confirmed they did so without prior approval and this is not the first incident.

Passi then speaks of the erev Shabbos terror attack in which Rabbi Yaakov HY”D and his son Yaakov Litman HY”D were murdered. He explains he was among the first on the scene with the IDF and after the victims were removed, one ambulance remained, the ambulance that brought the photographer.

“His job was to type the information to various WhatsApp groups and to interview people on the scene. Here too I had to fight to prevent leaking names of the victims and the horrific photos of the site” he adds.

One participant in the committee discussion was MK Shuli Muallem, a bereaved wife, explaining how she learned her husband Lt.-Colonel Moshe Muallem, 31, was killed in the chopper disaster on live broadcast.

She calls for dismissing EMS personnel and other responders who release information and photos from a scene without authorization.

The session was initiated by MK Betzalel Smotrich, who explained that today, in the era of WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook, the job of EMS personnel remains the same; to save lives and not to photograph.

Smotrich insists that as a society certain lines must not be crossed and the EMS organizations must make sure patient privacy is maintained at all times.

The chopper disaster:

The helicopter disaster occurred on 4 February 1997. 73 IDF soldiers and officers were killed when two Yassur 2000 helicopters collided over Shar Yashuv in northern Israel.

The helicopters were supposed to cross the border into Israel’s “security zone” in southern Lebanon, but were hovering while waiting for official clearance to go.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)