(live here) – City Council member Artyom Kharchenko from the "Connected to Haifa Our Home" faction submitted a motion for order, in which he calls on the Haifa Municipality to immediately launch a municipal awareness project on the subject of snakes, following the reported increase in encounters with snakes in both open areas and populated areas of the city.
According to Kharchenko, with the onset of summer and the first heat waves, there is an increase in the appearance of snakes throughout the city, sometimes in unexpected places such as yards, walking paths and public gardens. "This is a familiar seasonal phenomenon, but city residents do not always know how to respond appropriately. Lack of knowledge can lead to unnecessary panic and sometimes even a real risk to life," Kharchenko explained.
As part of the proposal, he calls on the municipality, through the Spokesperson's Department and in cooperation with the Veterinary Service, to establish an information system that will provide residents with reliable, updated, and accessible information. Among the recommendations he made:
- Clear information about the types of snakes common in the Haifa area – which are venomous and dangerous, and which are not dangerous to humans.
- Clear instructions for action – how to act when encountering a snake, when to contact the 106 hotline or other agencies, and how to report in an organized manner.
- What not to do – highlights that can prevent dangerous mistakes, such as trying to capture the snake or drive it away yourself.
- Translating the information into Russian – to make the information accessible to the Russian-speaking public in the city.
"I propose to promote the project on all municipal channels and social media, in order to raise awareness and prevent cases of panic or unnecessary injuries," said Kharchenko. "The outreach will strengthen the residents' sense of personal security - and this is the basic role of a municipality responsible for the well-being of its residents."
Kharchenko added that he himself would be happy to take part in formulating the explanatory content and cooperate with the relevant authorities in the municipality to promote the project as quickly as possible.
It is important to note that the Haifa system makes sure that every year, and in every season when the snakes become active, it publishes vital and up-to-date information on the subject. The system provides access to content that includes information on types of snakes, the correct behavior in the event of an encounter with them, reporting methods, and what to do in the event of a bite. The information is translated and accessible in five different languages, with the aim of reaching all residents of the city, including immigrant populations and speakers of foreign languages.
In Israeli politics, they are rampant all year round, and they do indeed pose a danger to society as a whole and to the state.
What does a picture of a python coiling and not harming the snakes of the Land of Israel have to do with it???
Well done to you for the videos and for raising awareness. Haram is a lot of harmless snakes and people just kill them out of fear.
Well done to those who raise awareness. There are many snakes that are not harmful and killing them out of fear is forbidden.
Maybe first you'll suggest mowing the thick, dry vegetation, suggestions like, for example, look at the burial caves on the coastal road, a real attraction, you can't get close to there because of the vegetation, it's a habitat for snakes, the whole area behind the Marine Research Institute, who takes care of it there, lawns grow to the height of an adult, why do residents of housing estates have to take care of this?? Why do they pay property taxes, and then private individuals pay for gardening and sewage??
The snake in the picture is a python, which does not exist in Israel.
The many encounters with snakes remind me of Eve, who was eventually caught red-handed and expelled from Eden.