B’NAI B’RAK, Israel – In the U.S., new drivers are taught defensive driving techniques to help prevent accidents. The class in Israel goes much further with a new course aimed at helping drivers in Judea and Samaria avoid terror attacks.
Israeli drivers in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, often share main roads with Palestinian neighbors. This mix of traffic can sometimes allow terrorists to launch attacks along the highway.
Attorney Nitsana Dershan-Leitner, founder of the Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center, told CBN News, “I represent David Stern, that is a former Marine guy that was driving in Itamar and was hit by a terrorist. Because he was well trained, he was able to hit back. He pulled his gun. He shot the terrorist. He took care of his wounds, and he survived the attack.”
How drivers react can often determine the difference between life and death. Dershan Leitner noted, “At the same time, I represent the family of Rabbi Dee, the mother, and the two girls that also were shot by Hamas people driving in the Jordan Valley. But they lost control over the car, and they were shot at zero distance and died.”
This potential danger led Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center to offer a course training residents of Judea and Samaria on how to respond in case of a terror attack on the road.
“When they throw stones at you, when they shoot (at) the car, then they throw a Molotov cocktail on you. And we bring experience and professional trainers to teach the residents, Dershan-Leitner explained.
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She told us that students bring their own car. Drivers, in groups of 25, are trained to face real threats and take action to survive.
From experience, she said the key is how conscious they have to be, how quickly you have to think, and how to save your kids that are sitting in the car seat behind you. We hear that, over time, people really use this training, use these skills, and get (away) from terror attacks.”
The most important lesson learned is not to panic as drivers learn how to respond.
“It teaches you to drive fully consciously (given) what can happen. It’s scary. Right? Because one time, when you drive, you want to enjoy the road. You want to enjoy, and Judea and Samaria are beautiful, and yet you have to be cautious. You have to be careful,” she said.
She added, “And if you get into a roadblock from stones or rocks or if you have rocks thrown, don’t lose control. Know exactly what you need to do. And, perhaps this way you can survive,” she instructed.
Dershan-Leitner says the law center’s goal is to save lives as taught by Jewish sages.
“One who saves one soul from the Jewish people has saved an entire world,” she asserted. “If we’re able to save one soul, we did our job.”
