Photo by
Kobi Richter/TPS-IL on 29 April, 2018
Israeli Military Prep School Administrators Convicted For Deaths of 10 Students
Jerusalem, 17 November, 2024 (TPS-IL) -- Two administrators of an Israeli pre-military academy were convicted in Beer-Sheva District on Sunday for the deaths of 10 students in a hiking tragedy.
Ten high school students of the Bnei Zion pre-military academy were swept away in a flash flood while hiking in a riverbed near the Dead Sea in 2018.
Found guilty of negligence were Yuval Kahan, the principal of the Bnei Zion pre-military academy, and Aviv Bardichev, an educational director at the academy’s Tel Aviv branch who led the hike.
Nine girls and one boy were killed, and another two students were injured. All were seeking to be accepted into Bnei Zion after graduating high school.
The court noted that Kahan and Bardichev ignored warnings of severe weather, and did not adjust their hiking route, even when a light rain began to fall before the group entered the Tzafit Canyon. The flash flood struck about 30 minutes after the group entered the gorge. The court ruled that Kahan had insisted the hike proceed despite the warnings, and was neither present nor in contact with Bardichev.
The ruling also criticized the Ministry of Education for poor oversight of pre-military preparatory schools, highlighting its failure to collaborate on safety procedures and denying access to risk-monitoring resources.
Israeli pre-military academies offer high school graduates a gap year for personal development before mandatory military service. These programs emphasize leadership, physical fitness, and academic studies. Around 25% of the officers in the Israel Defense Forces are alumni of these programs.
Flash floods near the Dead Sea pose a significant risk, especially during the rainy season. They can occur with little warning as rainwater quickly flows through narrow canyons and wadis in powerful torrents.
