With the holiday of Passover approaching, Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger has written an open letter to the rabbis of Israel, asking them to make road safety a major feature of their upcoming Passover-eve Sabbath sermons.
"On the eve of the Holiday of Freedom," Rabbi Metzger writes, "I turn to you, with my heart in pain at the plague of car accidents that have spread of late in our midst. The catastrophic results of this plague keep sleep from my eyes and calm from my soul...
"The words of the Sages are well-known: 'Whoever has the ability to protest wrongdoing by those of his household but does not do so, will be liable for their sins. If he can protest the sins of his townspeople but does not, he will be liable for their sins. And the same for the entire world.'
"I feel that... we have the ability to protest the actions of our townspeople... The path towards fixing this problem lies in explaining and persuading others about the importance of taking extra car to observe the traffic laws as well as observing the Biblical commandment of 'Take meticulous care of your health.'"
"I therefore call upon you to stand in the front line of this struggle, and do not weaken until the plague leaves us. I ask you with all my heart to devote a significant part of you Shabbat HaGadol sermons to matters pertaining to road safety, and may G-d grant that your heartfelt words will enter the hearts of our brothers, the Children of Israel. May we merit to be those who not only act, but also help others to act to save Jewish lives."
Hundreds of religious-Zionist Yeshiva youths are engaged in a weeks-long campaign to promote road safety, handing out literature and bumper stickers at intersections across the country. An article in the Yesha Shelanu weekly newsletter, published by the Yesha Council of Judea and Samaria Communities notes that in the year 2006, "terrorists killed 23 citizens and members of the security forces, as opposed to 466 people killed on the roads. The main enemy is car accidents.”