A n Israeli reader of the English Mishpacha recently complained that he was uninterested in articles about the tuition crisis in America. How could an issue that has immense impact on tens of thousands of Jewish families not be of interest I wondered.
But I could forgive an American reader who felt that the wild dogs currently harassing residents of Ramat Beit Shemesh is a bit too parochial. And I confess that the importance of the issue for me has a good deal to do with the fact that I have four married couples and a healthy percentage of my grandchildren living in Ramat Beit Shemesh Gimmel one of the afflicted neighborhoods.
Five or six people have been attacked and had to undergo a painful regimen of rabies shots so far and many others have been chased by these dogs which are large and menacing. Parents will only let their children play in the parking lots adjacent to their buildings. A 12-year-old boy was recently dragged to the ground and bitten six times. An elderly lady fell and broke her collarbone when surprised on the street by a dog pack and others have run blindly into the street in the same situation.
One of my daughters-in-law who leaves for work early in the morning has been chased and had to swing her purse hard to drive away wild dogs on at least one occasion. Another won’t get off a bus at night unless her husband is there to meet her. Though the dogs which travel in packs of between three and nine are most prevalent at night they have also appeared at the public parks where kids play in the afternoon.
