Elitzur Butavya, 50, of Kiryat Arba did what most fathers would do for their daughters - but he did it the hard way: He tried to walk 20 miles to Jerusalem with his 2.5-year-old physically disabled daughter in a stroller, protesting the discontinuation of subsidized transportation for her to the hospital. The town provided the weekly transportation last year, but recently informed him that it could no longer afford it.
Following the protest march yesterday (Tuesday), Kiryat Arba officials agreed that an evaluation committee would convene on Sunday to decide if the child's medical condition justifies such transportation. Chana Shvil, head of the city's chief welfare department, said that the transportation to Jerusalem costs some "three to four thousand shekels each month, because it involves a bulletproof van, waiting time, etc. This past year, three children shared the van, but the families of the other two children no longer require this service."
Butavya told Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson yesterday that he felt he had no other choice but to begin his march, despite the heat: "I never expected to get very far," he said. "I was sure that the city officials would come out immediately and realize that this couldn't go on, etc. Instead, about halfway to Jerusalem they had to call an ambulance, because my daughter was in distress... Finally, when we reached the Gush Etzion junction, officials from Kiryat Arba promised me that everything was taken care of, and that the transportation would not be discontinued." Zalmanson reminded him that the evaluation committee has not yet made its decision, but Butavya said with confidence, "I have all the medical forms and documents showing that she needs it. There will be a representative from the Welfare Ministry, and everything should be OK."
Two army jeeps and a police van escorted the man and his young daughter along the way yesterday. The toddler in question is the youngest of 11 children.