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The ZAKA Meron Center is ready for the Lag B’Omer operation. The 1220 center will be operated to locate missing and lost children throughout the entire process. * The children who come to Meron will be given free identity tags to facilitate rapid identification of the parents.

As in previous years, ZAKA will operate a special center to locate missing and lost children, and will cooperate with the Israel Police during the Lag B’Omer holiday and assist the masses of mispallalim in locating their lost children.

One may phone 1220 directly from any phone. The center will be located in the center of Maale Hahar near the Chessed L’Avraham-Skulen institutions. In special cases, ZAKA ATVs will be sent to locate the parents by means of a the special loudspeaker system of the ATVs. The ZAKA center will also operate a medical point of contact to provide quick first aid to the needy.

As is well known, every year as part of the Lag B’Omer celebrations in Meron result in hundreds of children getting separated and lost from parents and guardians. Locating a missing child amid all the noise and chaos is not a simple task, hence, ZAKA stepped up to the challenge a number of years ago, beginning with the distribution of free ID tags for children upon their arrival to the area.

The ZAKA center will operate from Wednesday morning until Saturday night, under the command of ZAKA North commander and the Chief of the Northern District Police, Rabbi Anshel Friedman.

For the benefit of the masses, the ZAKA hotline, 1220, will be manned by additional personnel and it is accessible from any telephone, and the volunteers will contact the parents who are looking to locate their lost children.

On the side of the prevention, ZAKA will continue this year with the creative idea that began a few years ago, in the framework of which ZAKA will distribute ID tags for the children at stations selling tickets in certain areas.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)