It's 11:24 p.m. I'm getting ready for tonight's sleep. The neighbor's pager is beeping. A quick glance at one of the WhatsApp news groups reveals a report: "A serious car accident occurred on Highway 90 near the entrance to Oja. Volunteer paramedics from the Binyamin and Jerusalem branches of United Hatzalah are reporting a fatality and are providing first aid to a seriously injured person - unconscious, and to three others with minor to moderate injuries.".
I read a chapter of Psalms for the treatment of the wounded and continued organizing. Accidents, unfortunately, are a common occurrence. Another look at the same group I had looked at before revealed the following detail: They are all Haredi. Okay, I told myself, in a little while I will know exactly what happened.
But the next glimpse into that WhatsApp group completely stunned me. Like a bloody reality show, names of the dead began to circulate, photos were sent, and each one was given a rating on how likely it was 'him' or perhaps 'someone else'.
Amidst the commotion, one of the group members wrote that one of the 'candidates' was his uncle, and he was already looking into the matter. A quick check revealed that the uncle was sleeping in his bed at his home in Jerusalem. He was very surprised to receive a call at such an hour.
Reports from the field continue to flow in - and the picture is beginning to become clearer. The name of the deceased: Elchanan Tuito, late.
Now the next guessing game has begun: Elhanan Tuito, but from where? It means Hasmoneans, it means Jerusalem, it means Sderot.
When suddenly everyone falls silent.
Israel Tuito, the brother of the deceased, hears the shocking recording with the deceased's name uploaded by one of the volunteers who were present at the scene of the accident, and asks to verify whether it is his brother.
Everyone is silent. No one answers.
But then comes the next spin: A message was sent to parents living in Sderot. Ten minutes later, the information turned out to be incorrect.
Meanwhile, the bereaved brother is receiving dozens of messages of condolence. Even if he had wondered until now whether his brother was the one killed, the stream of condolences and sympathy has arrived and terrified him to the worst of all.
Reality car accidents on WhatsApp.
I don't mean to generalize. But the shameful and shocking spectacle that took place yesterday in the WhatsApp groups is the responsibility of volunteers who were present at the scene, as there was a secret competition among them to see who would be the first to report.
Last night, several people were killed in WhatsApp groups, while they were at home. But it wasn't just them. It wasn't just Elhanan, the late, who was killed on the road.
Besides him, another soul died: the soul of his brother who died within him, when he first confessed via WhatsApp about his late brother's terrible fate.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
