supreme court hearing today about WIFI deployment in ISRAELI schools - 11-02-2015

Today, 11/02/2015, the forth hearing in the case of "stop wifi in Israeli schools" was held in the supreme court in Jerusalem. 

The hearing was held at 13:30.  Attorney Michael Bach and Attorney Dafna Tachover  asked the court to give an intermediate injunction court order to stop the use and deployment of WIFI in schools. A group of activist, EHS people and kids arrived to the court in order to view the hearing.

The court requested the state to issue affidavits about the professional view of the ministry of health and the ministry of environmental protection about the deployment of WIFI in schools and the possible danger.   

Photos from the supreme court hearing today about WIFI deployment in ISRAELI schools - 11-02-2015

 Activist, lawyers, EHS people and kids today outside the court room

 Activist, lawyers, EHS people and kids today in side the court room 

 Attorney Michael Bach being interviewed to channel 2 TV

Attorney Dafna Tachover being interviewed to the IDF radio

 A Sign in the court requesting to turn off the cellphones,
not because the radiation , because it may interrupt the hearing.

Court approve a settlement agreement in a class action against phone companies in ISRAEL

This week (29/07/2014) the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, approved a settlement agreement between 2 main Israeli cellphone providers, Pelephone and Partmer. A similar agreement was singed with Hot Mobile. A similar class action is still pending aginst Cellcom LTD. The class action was submitted by Attorney Ronnie Kordonr who argued that mobile phones that are fixed by these companies are not retested for radiation emission.
The settlement agreement has 3 key points:
1. The companies will warn their users not to hold their cellphones about the risk of holding the mobile phones next to their bodies. To my opinion this step is very important since smart phones emit RF radiation even when in idle mode so people should know that they need to keep them away and not in their pockets.
2. For a limited time, the cellphone companies will cell wired earpiece for 10NIS (about 3US$). To my opinion this step is very good since it will encourage people to use earpiece that if used currently (while the phone is a way as possible from the body) will reduce their exposure to the RF radiation emitted by the smart phone while talking.
3. The cellphone companies will be obligated to recheck the RF emission of the cellphone after being fixed. If the phone will exceed the standard in more than 12% it will be sent to the manufacture. To my opinion this step is not effective since the radiation tests that will be done are according to heat based standards. If a phone passes these test, it does not mean it is a safe phone.

In general I applaud the achievements compromise, hedge Section 3.

Congratulations initiators claim and attorney Rani Korndonr.

Original article translated using Google Translator:
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WIFI in school, Israeli Supreme court case - UPDATE - Conditional Injunction was issued!!!

I am still learning and working on understanding what happened yesterday in court( I was present) and what are the consequences of it, so please note that the following report is temporary report.

We are one step closer! 
Yesterday, the 23/04/2014, the Israeli Supreme court, after a short and to the point hearing, issued a conditional injunction to the Ministry of Education to explain to the court why wired computer networks could not be installed in all of Israeli schools. The ministry must file it's reply by 15/07/2014. If the ministry will fail to do so or if the court will not find his reply sufficient, the court injunction will become valid and the ministry of education will be forced to stop the use of WIFI and to deploy wired networks in Israeli schools.

The court did not issue an immediate order to stop the use and deployment of WIFI.

During the hearing the court quoted sentences from documents filed by Attorney Dafna Tachover.
Attorney Michael Bach argue patiently to the court about the fact that the Ministry of Education recommend wired networks but is deploying WIFI in schools, against the opinions of professionals and his own recommendation, while more and more kids are suffering from the daily exposure. " The ministry is saying one thing and doing the opposite, We have kids in the court room that suffer from this radiation" said Attorney Michael Bach. While Attorney Michael Bach Argues his case the court said, several time "there is no need, we have come  to a decision". It seems that the court made up his mind before the hearing and just wanted to verify that the state has now new info and just old excuses.

What does it really mean?
I think it means we are getting closer to a verdict. It means that the court was convinced with our claims that kids are suffering and many more will if the WIFI will be used in schools. It means that the court understood that the entire time the ministry of education was saying "we recommend wired network" but it was in fact, deploying WIFI in every possible school (~3300 schools out of more then 4000 in Israel have WIFI now. Most of them were installed in the last 2-3 years).

Background
In the last 3 years, the Ministry Of Education has been deploying wireless routers and laptops to schools in ISRAEL. What started as an experiment in 20 schools, with wireless internet and laptops, became a wide deployment of wireless routers and in more than 3300 schools so far.


In 08/2012, after failing to convince the Ministry Of Education to stop the deployment of WIFI in schools, and ban the use of WIFI in schools, after all our communication with the ministry came to a dead-end. Few days before the start of the 2012-2013 new school year, Attorney Michael Bach, representing the "Furom for Sane Cellphone Use", the "National Parents Association" , and EHS activist Attorney Dafna Tachover (now representing herself), filed a request to the supreme court with to order the Ministry of Education to stop the deployment and ban use of all WIFI in schools.

Since then there were several hearings and in the meantime the Ministry of Education deployed WIFI in more than 3300 schools (according to its own testimony). 
Up to now (04/2014) we(Israeli activists) have been contacted by parents representing more than 100 kids with EHS symptoms when in schools. Some of the parents filed affidavits via Attorney Dafna Tachover about their kids' suffering.  

For more info please see old posts:
http://norad4u.blogspot.co.il/2012/12/update-wifi-in-schools-in-israel.html

Pictures form the court were taken by Ami Yakov and other activists and parents.

The Court room

Activists, parents and kids in the court room

 Activists, parents and kids in the court's hallway

Attorney Michael Bach giving an interview to the press

Me(No Rad) giving an interview to the press

Stop WIFI in school court case in ISRAEL - update 01-2014

At 27/01/2014, Attorney Dafna Tachover submitted her reply to the court.
Her 20 pages response (which was cut down from 85 pages)  including 5 experts opinions regarding EHS, an Israeli RF experts opinion on the problems and laws in the RF measurements as currently conducted in schools in Israel and explain why the outcomes of measurements in classrooms are usually bellow 0.1uW/cm2, a review of 15 scientific papers on the biological effect of WIFI radiation and many other evidence.
Please read more about attorney Dafna Tachover reply at –
http://ehsfighback.blogspot.co.il/2014/02/israeli-wi-fi-in-schools-case-update.html 



A few days after the response was submitted, on 3/2/2014, the Supreme Court issued an intermediate decision as follows:

1. it did not issued and intermediary injunction until final decision,
2. The court ordered the respondents to provide and updated information as requested in July regarding WIFI deployment and EHS. 
3. The court scheduled a hearing for 24 April ,2014.

The Court ordered the government to submit an updated information 20 days before the next hearing as followed:
1. In how many schools wired internet network was installed.
2. In how many schools the wired network is used during classes.
3. Number of EHS students and what was done in order to find them.
As before the answers should be submitted with an affidavit.
Please read more about the court's intermediate decision from 03/02/2014 - http://ehsfighback.blogspot.co.il/2014/02/wi-fi-case-intermidiary-court-decision.html

My review

I did not expect much from the court, but I am a little bit disappointed that it did not find it necessary to give an intermediary injunction to stop the irradiation of kids in schools in ISRAEL, at least until a final decision is reached especially considering that Dafna Tachover provided evidence of 13 students who are already sick. It is possible that the court do not want to take this action now, and allows the ministry of education to update the data presented on it's last reply (in 70% of schools that are included in the report 75% of them had WIFI installed. No information was provided regarding how many schools have wired Internet in the class rooms and no info how many schools are using it during classes. Regarding EHS the ministry of education brought a letter of prof' Sigal Sidesky in which she claimed that there is no evidence that EHS is caused by RF radiation and that there is no diagnostic criteria there for she thinks that it is impossible to conduct am inquiry as to how many students already suffer from EHS).

Next hearing will be in April 2014, which means that the kids who are already suffering from the WIFI and RF radiation from other devises such as smart phone in their schools, will continue suffering at least 3 more months. I am an EHS person and I could not sustain WIFI and smart phone radiation in classrooms for more then few minute. I could not imagine what I would do if my child had to go to schools and be exposed to  WIFI and smartphones radiation all day, every day.

Many parents were hoping that after a year and a half, the the court will finally reach a decision and would not drag the case further. But is seems that the gap between, one one hand, the facts regarding the existing science which proves that WIFI radiation is dangerous and the reality of sick children that we presented to the court and on the other hand the misconception of wireless technology regarded as "safe" by the public and possibly also by the court (this misconception is influenced by the industry backed-up by wrong "scientific consensus" and experts that say "EHS is not relay caused by RF" and "WIFI, or EMF in general, is safe"). It is also possible that the court is given the ministry of education 3 more months to claim down the tree.

What we did so far:

Attorney Dafna Tachover brought to the court every explanation and prof why WIFI should be turned off. Dafna and Attorney Michael Bach proved to the court that all the official document that were issued by the ministry of education, noting that wired networks should be preferred, were only a cover up operation while the ministry of education encouraged, supported and pushed for WIFI as an only option.
Attorney Dafna Tachover brought all the explanations why the use of wireless devices and WIFI in side classes is a bad move (much worse than the situation in an apartment or house that has WIFI, few wireless computers, cordless phone, and few smartphones - backed-up by an RF expert view from ISRAEL), about EHS being a real condition caused by EMF exposure and a possible outcome for many students in wireless classrooms (backed-up by 5 experts views from around the world). In addition Dafna submitted more than 10 affidavit of EHS people , and affidavit from parents of more than 10 kids who are already suffering from EHS symptoms in school days.

But it seems that the gap is still too big. What we showed and prove the court is relay hard to grasp if you don't understand the technical details(sometimes even if you do), if you are not an EHS person your self or when you use the wireless devices daily and feel nothing. The disinformation in this field is so wide that people buy and use these devices without relay understanding the danger. Most of them don't even understand that the RF radiation is making them sick when it does.

What needs to be done now?

1. In my opinion the fight should go back the ground level.
2. Parents of EHS students should order their kids to stay out of classes in which WIFI and wireless laptops or tablets are used.
3. Parents of EHS students need to face the schools and demand to band the use of wireless and cellphone technologies in schools. 
4. We need to address the media and try to improve the awareness of the public.
5. We must make an effort to get to more parents that their kid might be EHS, and give them tools and info to diagnose their kids and to help them reduce their exposure.
6. Parent of EHS kids needs to attend the next parliament education comity meeting and sound their voice!
7. Parent of EHS kids needs to attend the next court sitting.

Bellow is the court intermediate decision (in Hebrew)