CHAI/HAKOL CHAI ACHIEVES MAJOR STEP TOWARD NATIONWIDE CART HORSE BAN
CHAI/Hakol Chai achieved a major step toward its
long-worked for goal of banning horse- and donkey-pulled carts from
city streets and highways throughout the country, when Israel's
Transportation Ministry agreed to accept Hakol Chai's suggested new
regulation to ban these vehicles. The Justice Department must now check
the text of the new regulation before it heads to the Knesset Finance
Committee for final approval, which is expected at the end of January,
after the national elections. Israel will then become the first country
to ban all vehicles pulled by animals on city streets and highways.
Horses and donkeys are used in Israel to haul furniture, appliances,
old clothing, scrap metal, rocks from construction sites, and heavy
produce like watermelons. They are often starved, beaten, denied
veterinary and farrier care, forced to stand in the hot sun all day
without water, and to wear ill-fitting harnesses that gouge into their
flesh. At the end of the summer or when they are too ill or weak to
work, they are abandoned. Some collapse in the street, still in their
harnesses.
At a meeting last month with representatives of
the Transportation Ministry,
Hakol Chai presented a collage of photos of abused cart horses sent
to it by concerned citizens from around the country, entitled "Israel in
the 21st Century" and requested that the regulations be changed to ban
the phenomenon nationwide. The Ministry agreed to Hakol Chai's request,
and Hakol Chai representatives then worked with committee members to
draft suggested wording for the new legislation.
"The Cart Horse Phenomenon, Israel in the 21st Century"
International animal protection organizations sent congratulatory
letters to Transportation Minister Israel Katz in honor of Horses
Without Carriages International Day, December 1, praising his decision
to adopt Hakol Chai's suggested regulations and expressing gratitude for
his forward step that demonstrates positive and humane leadership. CHAI
is part of an international coalition working to ban horse-drawn
vehicles everywhere.
Please donate to CHAI so we can continue
to be the voice of the animals, ensuring that the newly won ban is
enforced throughout the country. Following are just some of the actions
on behalf of horses and donkeys made possible by your contributions:
·
Repeatedly exposing the abuse to raise public consciousness, including
shutting down a major horse abuser who hacked unsold horses apart with
an axe in front of other horses and sold the meat in the market as cow
meat.
·
Appealing to the Transportation Ministry and to Mayors throughout the
country to ban the phenomenon
·
Putting up countless posters urging the public to recognize and report
abuse
·
Organizing a well-attended rally at a popular Tel Aviv night club at
which volunteer celebrity musicians and singers performed, drawing
publicity and support to the cause
·
Submitting a formal proposal to the Tel Aviv City Council asking for a
city-wide ban on the phenomenon, which resulted in the Council calling a
special meeting to discuss the issue for the first time; demonstrating
outside the building where the Council met to exert additional pressure
·
Initiating a "witness" campaign to keep awareness of the widespread
problem high and enlist the help of the public. The campaign urged
people throughout the country to use their cell phones to send us photos
of cart horses and their drivers, which we compiled in a collage
captioned "Israel in the 21st Century" to present to officials and the
media. This campaign was initiated after signs finally put up by Tel
Aviv barring entrance to these vehicles were ignored by cart owners, and
the police failed to issue fines.
"The values taught by this program exactly match those that
our school aims to instill in children," commented a principal of
one of the participating schools. She emphasized how important it is to
teach humane values at an early age. Respect, responsibility,
empathy, critical thinking, and empowering children to make
compassionate choices to create a better world are the building blocks
of our program.
Teachers report that students are excited by
and engaged in the lessons, which are allowing them to express and
explore their feelings about animals for the first time. They are
discovering that both humans and animals have emotions and intelligence
and that every living being deserves to be treated with respect and
compassion. "Before this program," one boy commented, "I
thought of animals as stupid and without feelings and was afraid to have
them in my family because I thought they were aggressive and dangerous,
but I learned that animals are sometimes more intelligent than humans
and I am no longer afraid of them. This program gives me tools for how
to treat animals," he told the teacher. Some students reported that
they feel closer to animals than to people.
One of the many
benefits of humane education is that it helps teachers identify children
at risk of violent behavior. Scientific studies have shown that cruelty
to animals in children is an accurate predictor of violence toward
humans when children become adults. In response to a teacher's
questions "Should we be responsible for animals? Should we have
compassion for them?" one student answered that he didn't feel
compassion for animals, for humans, and not even for himself because no
one cared about him. The teacher learned that neither parent was in his
life, and acted immediately to get him help. Other students reported
overhearing a boy bragging to his classmates that he had cut the tails
off of cats in his neighborhood. Their teacher told the class that such
behavior is cruel and unacceptable and immediately arranged counseling
for the boy. How many lives, human and animal, might our program be
saving?
Teachers offer students an opportunity to explore
their feelings, and they stress the importance of not taking out their
pain and anger on animals. One boy said he picked up and threw his
cat out of frustration over something and later felt terrible about what
he had done. Another boy said his brother hit him and he immediately hit
his dog, who bit him. He realized it was his own fault and felt bad for
the dog. In each case, teachers reinforced the message that it is wrong
to harm animals.
Children spoke up about having seen dogs
burned, donkeys and horses abused and whipped, and said they won't put
up with such abuse of animals anymore and will do something to stop it."If you were in the place of the abused animals," the teacher
asked, "how would you feel and what would you want others to do?"
One boy said his father had given him a gift of birds in a cage, but he
felt so sorry for them, he released them. His father was very angry, he
said, but he felt he had done the right thing. A teacher set up a
website on which children can post their stories and poems about
animals.
October marked the annual celebration of the holiday
of Eid al-Adha, a festival of sacrifice during which people kill animals
and give a portion of the meat to the poor. It is considered a blessing
for children to watch and participate in the slaughter. Teachers
reported that children returned to school afterwards highly upset and
confused by the contrast between our message of compassion and respect
and what they witnessed. While observing one class, for example, Hakol
Chai's program supervisor noticed a boy who was so upset, he was unable
to speak or write. An additional teacher and a counselor were called in
to comfort and support students in the class. Killing animals on this
holiday is a cultural tradition, not a religious requirement. Children
can donate to charity instead and we have asked religious leaders to
clarify for students the importance of kindness to animals in their
religion.
Students in one participating school are of the
Druze religion, a unique sect of Islam. Israeli citizens, the Druze have
risen to high-ranking Army officer positions, lost their lives in
combat, and many have become members of the Knesset (Parliament). The
Druze believe that being vegetarian brings us closer to God and their
religious leaders are vegetarian. They do not allow children under
the age of 7 to participate in the Eid al-Adha animal slaughter. We
will ask the Moslem and Druze religious leaders we invite to address
students to inform schools and parents that it is acceptable for all,
especially children, to replace slaughtering animals with acts of
charity.
Our educational programs for secular schools in
Israel and for Jewish schools everywhere will be launched soon.Please support our educational
programs that go to the root of the problem of indifference and cruelty,
planting seeds of kindness and compassion in the next generation.
Send your generous tax-deductible contributions to CHAI, POB 3341,
Alexandria, VA 22302, or
donate online on our website.
Hakol Chai Interviewed on TV Protesting Cruel Kapparot Ritual
From TV interview of Hakol Chai's representative at Hatikva Market,
Tel Aviv, during kapparot
Just before Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in September, some
religious Jews engage in the practice of kapparot. Live chickens are
held by the legs and swung around people's heads three times before
their throats are slit, in the belief that the chicken will take on the
sins of the person and spare him or her punishment. The dead chickens
are donated to the poor to eat. Investigations have revealed that the
chickens are not given proper care and are treated inhumanely.
Kapparot is not a religious requirement. It can be replaced by
donating to charity and other good deeds. Furthermore, the Torah
says that one must not commit a sin (cause cruelty to animals) in order
to perform a mitzvah or good deed (asking for forgiveness).
Hakol Chai's representative, interviewed by the media at a location in
Jerusalem where kapparot is practiced, said: "In the act of
seeking forgiveness for ourselves, we are harming another living being,
and in so doing are violating the prohibition against 'tsa'ar ba'alei
chayyim,' causing suffering to animals." CHAI is a member of a
coalition working toward replacing kapparot with good deeds and giving
to charity.
Hakol Chai continues to
expose the cruelties of the horse racing industry and the
abuse of cart horses and donkeysin the media and to publish
information to elevate consciousness about animals, including
how to provide for and protect animals in the event of emergency or war,
such as recently occurred in the south of the country, for example.
Hakol Chai's work was mentioned no less than 69 times in the media
(print, online, TV, and radio) over the past year—33 times in connection
with our campaign against horse racing , 21 times in connection with our
efforts to ban cart horses, and 15 times in connection with our Arab
education program and other issues. Your support has made it possible
for Hakol Chai to be a strong voice for animals.
Hakol Chai
also regularly responds to calls for help from the public, whether
reporting incidents of cruelty, requesting help with veterinary care for
those who cannot afford it, or with finding homes for abandoned animals.
In honor of World Animal Day, October 4th, a sign was placed
on a horse statue in central Tel Aviv by Hakol Chai
activists, flyers were distributed to passersby, and
conversations educated them about the cruelties inherent in
the horse racing industry.
Luka was found in Nazareth by a young American woman who
called us desperate to find a home for her before returning
to the U.S. Thanks to our efforts, Luka now has a wonderful
home with a young couple in Petach Tikvah.
Help us spread the word about CHAI's work on behalf of Israel's animals.
The more support we have, the more we can help animals. Here are some
ways you can help:
·
Send your generous, tax-deductible contributions to CHAI, POB 3341,
Alexandria, VA 22302
or
donate through our website.
·
Organize a "parlor meeting" of friends to help raise funds for CHAI's
projects
·
Distribute CHAI pamphlets at synagogues, Temples, vets' offices, and
other places people who care about animals are likely to see them
·
Know any foundations that might consider a grant proposal from CHAI or
reporters who might write about our cause? Tell us!
