VIDEO - Moshe Hai Yisraeli, a 62-year-old driving instructor, was killed Monday in an accident when he tried to bypass a truck. This accident could have become no more than another figure in the gloomy road-accident statistics in Israel. However, a video camera, located at the junction where the accident occurred, showed drivers bypassing the "obstacle," the dying man on the road, rather than stopping to offer assistance. Dr Gustavo Mesch, a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Haifa, said he was not surprised that nobody stopped to help. People in Israeli society tend to depend on each other. When there are others around, "we see them as responsible, not us," said Mesch. Another reason, according to Mesch was that "in the past, we used to interfere in every aspect of other people's lives. In recent years, however, Israeli society is undergoing a shift from a collective society that cares for all, to an individualist society." Simply didn't see it Mesch added that people's interest in themselves that caused them to ignore others, was not intentional. "They are too involved in themselves too see anyone else. People didn't see the accident and then decide not to stop out of malice. They simply didn't see it. They are so focused at driving from one place to another that they do not see their surroundings." Dr Mesch believes that this condition is reversible. It is a matter of leadership. "For several years," explained Mesch, "we have had leadership that does nothing but privatize everything. Everything is evaluated in terms of money. A different leadership could change that." Abhorring apathy Rabbi Yuval Sherlow, an eminent rabbi from the religious-Zionist community, was surprised when he saw the pictures from Yisraeli's accident: "I see so many instances where people help others that this surprises me. I hope that this is the exception and not the norm." According to Rabbi Sherlow helping others is a moral obligation: "The halacha also tells us not to 'stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor' (Leviticus 19/16). You cannot see a man in distress and not offer a helping hand." Sherlow thinks that an individualist society can be ethical too, but we must be morally troubled by the fact that this happens. "…If he was not helped because of indifference, it indicates abhorring apathy, and could possibly be the continued lack of solidarity in the Israeli society that started a while ago." Dichter speaks of loss of solidarity Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter spoke during a Knesset session Monday evening, and referred to the shocking incident. "How far will apathy and insensitivity take us?" he asked. "For a minute and-a-half, which was like eternity, Moshe bled to death on the busy road in a crowded intersection and no one stopped o help him. "Moshe died at midday in the heart of the country before the eyes pf drivers and motorcyclists who passed by, saw him and continued driving," Dichter said, and criticized Israeli society for the loss of values such as solidarity and mutual help.