A miracle
This afternoon a couple of young teenage girls were miraculously saved. They were waiting for a ride on the road near Rechallim, north of Jerusalem. A car stopped and two Arabs tried to force them in. One succeeded in escaping, but the other didn't. Baruch Hashem very soon after an army vehicle arrived and took chase. The girl was released.
One of the reasons we have to "tremp," hitchhike, is because the public transportation is insufficient. The public transportation is horrendous from some yishuvim. There is no public transportation at all between Beit El and north of the T-junction, meaning none to Ofra, Shiloh, Eli, Maale Levona etc. There are numerous educational institutions, especially large high schools in these communities, and the students and staff come from all over the area. Students, staff and ordinary people of all ages are forced to "tremp" and stand on roads.
Even the buses from Shiloh and Ofra going south which pass the T-Junction to Beit El won't let us off there. We have to rely on unpredictable rides. There's no way parents can enforce "only take a bus." I'm a teacher, and I have to "tremp."
In addition, the schools are getting much less government support, and the high schools have eliminated the free bus service which once existed for all students and staff. To make matters even worse, the local council has instructed its drivers not to pick up hitch hikers. So we have no choice other than "tremp."
Rechallim is the location of the murder of my friend Rachella Druk of Shiloh over 15 years ago, when we were all going to a demonstration to encourage Yitzchak Shamir, then Prime Minister, to be strong and defend us at the Madrid Conference. Three buses left Shiloh, and terrorists shot up the second one, murdering Rachella, Yitzchak Rofeh, the bus driver, and injuring others, including Harel Bin Nun, who was later murdered in Yitzhar.