JCM CEO shifts Negev disaster blame on school principal
Head of the Joint Council of Pre-Military Academies seems to be placing responsibility for the flash flood disaster that cost the lives of ten pre-military students on their principal.
CEO of the Joint Council of Pre-Military Academies (JCM), Dani Zamir, has seemingly placed responsibility for last week's tragic events at Zafit Stream on the principal of the Bnei Zion pre-military academy, Yuval Kahan.
Ten youths from the Bnei Zion pre-military academy lost their lives in the tragedy, caught off guard by a vicious flash flood.
"These deaths stem from a fundamental failure of responsibility," he said at an emergency JCM conference, adding that this disaster necessitates an examination and reconfiguration of the JCM organization, because "no one else" is responsible for the incident.
"We are responsible for our students, period," he stated. "We must look directly at the grieving families and our children and say: We will do everything possible that this will not happen again.
"We will not accept, we cannot and will not accept such results. Risk management should minimize everything that can be prevented in advance. This is the responsibility for being the head of a preparatory program and leading such an educational project."
Kahan was released Monday to house arrest. While Zamir did not mention him by name, it was clear to all who was alluding to.
Zamir then directly addressed "the family of Bnei Zion—the preparatory school which to this day remains without its leaders," stressing that the JCM will do its best "to ensure its continued existence and rehabilitation as a flourishing and leading program."
Before the conference, Zamir told Ynet that he believes that the pre-military programs will eventually be subordinate to the Education Ministry and emphasized that the joint committee between the JCM, the ministry and Israel's relevant security services that was announced on Saturday has not yet taken place.
