Against the backdrop of rising violence in Israel, Beit Berl College conducted a special survey among a representative sample of middle school students to examine their sense of personal safety in and outside school, and the picture that emerged is deeply troubling.
The survey, conducted by the Rushinek Institute, included a nationwide representative sample of 501 seventh- through ninth-grade students in Jewish and Arab schools across the country.
About one-third of middle school students reported encountering more incidents of violence over the past year. Fifty-three percent said their schools do not properly address violent incidents. In addition, the findings showed that one in 10 students said they had been victims of violence in the past year.
The survey found that one in four students does not feel completely safe at school. Seventeen percent said they feel only partially safe on school grounds, while another 6% said they do not feel safe at all. Overall, 77% of students reported feeling safe at school.
The figures showed little change regarding feelings of insecurity outside school hours. When asked about their sense of safety during the afternoon hours outside school, 22% of students said they do not feel completely safe. Half of those who reported being harmed in the past year said the incident occurred at school, one-quarter said it happened outside school grounds, and 19% said they had been harmed both on and off campus.
Amid rising violence among youths, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in Tirat Carmel on Tuesday night and seriously wounded. He was taken to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. Police said the incident was believed to be criminal in nature. Around the same time, a young man and a teenage boy were injured in a brawl on Histadrut Boulevard in Haifa. They were also taken to Rambam Medical Center — a man in his mid-20s in moderate condition with bodily injuries and a 15-year-old boy in light condition. Two others were treated at the scene and did not require hospitalization.
Beit Berl College President Prof. Yuli Tamir, a former education minister, responded to the troubling findings: “There is no sector or group in Israeli society that does not feel the fear that has become part of life here. Every trip outside, the wrong look in someone’s eyes, an argument over parking — all can end in severe violence. The data show that the recent incidents that shocked the country are only the tip of the iceberg. In recent years, the educational support and counseling system that can help teachers and principals deal with violence in schools has been weakened.”