recently a diving instructor in israel sent a letter to the israeli dive authority in which he urges them to dictate that all dives have to be accompanied by dive leaders from a dive club.
following is a letter (one of several) sent to PADI which outlines the outrage expressed amoungst israeli divers in a local diving forum - a.e Tapuz diving forum.
let me know what you think and in the poll i'd like to know whether you can dive unaccompanied in your country or have to have a dive leader from the club.
October 6, 2002
To: PADI International
From: Kuty
Dear Sir,
I just found out that one of PADI course directors who also serves as a member of the professional committee of the Israeli Sport Diving Authority wrote a LAW proposal. I was shocked to read the proposal and I wanted to ask you whether it reflects the official PADI policy. The letter was written in Hebrew and I translated it to English for your convenience. If there is a Hebrew reading official in PADI headquarters I would be more than happy to send to you the Hebrew original. Anyway I can assure you that the translation is as close to the original as possible.
Before letting you read the letter I want to mention a few facts for the record. Unlike most of the countries in the world, sport diving in Israel is regulated by LAW. The body which was assigned to monitor this law is the Israeli Sport Diving Authority. This authority formed a professional committee, which consults the authority in professional issues. The majority of the members of the committee are the representatives of the national and international diving organizations. This letter was sent by one of the two (I think) PADI representatives in that committee, Mr. Eyal Sayag, who signs his letter as PADI course director number 909117. The letter is a proposal to change the Israeli diving law.
The letter:
To: Mr. Ran Levin
CEO The Israeli Sport Diving Authority
From: Sayag Eyal
PADI Course Director, Member of the Professional Committee
Subject: A law proposal to rearrange sport diving regulations in Israel
Ran Shalom,
In our last meeting, with all the members of the Professional Committee on May 30 2002 I raised a very important issue concerning scuba gear rental and scuba diving services for the certified divers in Israel. I mentioned the fact that Israel is one of the very few countries in the world that every newly certified diver can rent equipment or get his tanks filled the day after his certification and dive alone or with a buddy wherever he wishes. This negligence must be corrected immediately as we must try to measure up to the international scuba diving community, which authorizes recreational diving only through clubs that operate in the area, in guided dives. For that matter it does not matter what is the certification level of the diver unless they are diving instructors on duty, or commercial divers in countries like: U.S.A., Australia, Mexico, The Caribbean Islands, Thailand, The Maldives, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Any other diver is forbidden to dive on his own and he must dive within a guided program offered by the local club to prevent a number of things.
1. Fatal accidents and deaths of divers who operate independently.
I wish to remind you that every two months when the Committee is assembled there are one or two deaths, which we discuss, that happen in Israel, especially in Eilat. The last one was <name deleted for privacy> and <name deleted for privacy>, and in the next one I am sure that we shall discuss the latest deaths in Eilat of <names deleted for privacy>. These two rented scuba gear in a scuba diving club in Eilat, and went diving to 30 meters to find the YATUSH wreck. Their deaths could have been prevented if they had taken a guided dive with the club.
2. Abiding to the basic regulations of diving and equipment checking before the dive by a professional guide a divemaster or an instructor. This is to prevent light and medium accidents (see the two latest accidents in Eilat on the same Saturday in which the two divers died, of severe decompression cases).
3. Guarding diving sites and preventing damage to important nature resources which disappear and partially destroyed by those independent divers, sometimes on purpose when they harass living creatures or take home souvenirs.
4. Developing sport diving in Israel as a regulated, responsible and safe sport for divers from all ages. Just for your knowledge, the image of the sport in the population is that diving is dangerous and a diver can end up dead, which frightens a lot of people and prevents them from even trying it. Especially in light of the latest cases.
5. Encouraging the Israeli diving population to take enrichment courses in subjects like: navigating, deep diving, wreck diving, night diving, nitrox, perfect buoyancy, first aid, rescue, master diver and assistant instructor even by those who do not wish to work in the industry. These courses will surely improve his status as a diver. I wish to remind you that 80% of the diving population in Israel holds 2 stars and less. This is different from the tourists who come to Eilat and have wide range of certification levels perfectly organized in the logbooks and their willingness to take advanced courses in different levels.
I wish to make it clear that this proposal will not harm the Israeli diver. It will enhance his personal safety and the safety of the marine environment.
The motive for my proposal is professional only and has no financial aspect whatsoever.
My personal opinion is that the Israeli diver in the State of Israel must be coerced to dive only in guided dives unless he is conducting professional work like teaching and instructing, working for an underwater commercial firm, military, police, licensed fishing, archeological research, biological research etc. or when the divers and his buddys certification is DM or above.
Sayag Eyal
<Signature:>
Eyal Sayag
PADI Course Director
No. 909117
Tel. <deleted for privacy>
Copies:
Israeli Sport Diving Authority Inspectors
Representative of PADI Israel
Representative of SSI Israel
Representative of ACUC Israel
Representatives of NAUI Israel
Representative of TDI and NAUI Israel
Representatives of The Israeli Diving Federation
Representative of IANTD Israel
Dr. Halperin (ISDA doctor)
The letter was scanned and published by an unknown source on the Israeli TAPUZ Diving Forum. This is an Internet Hebrew forum for divers, which has many participants and is read by some of the diving professionals and organization leaders in Israel (we get some replies from them on the forum from time to time so this is a safe assumption). After it was published its authenticity was confirmed by one of the Israeli Sport Diving Authority officials. I think that you can imagine the aggravation this letter provoked among the diving community in Israel.
I have a few questions:
1. Is it PADIs official policy that PADIs certification program (as well as other agencys programs) is so inadequate that certified divers are not properly trained to dive unattended by a DM or an instructor, in a non guided dive?
2. Is it PADIs official policy that PADIs certification program (as well as other agencys programs) is so inadequate that certified divers are not sufficiently trained to perform satisfactory pre-dive equipment checks?
3. Does PADI have a nature awareness and preservation content in its basic courses?
4. If so, is it PADIs official policy that PADIs certification program (as well as other agencys programs) is so inadequate that certified divers should be accompanied at all times by a DM or an instructor as the only way to prevent damages to the marine life?
5. If these are not PADIs official policies is PADI aware of the fact that one of your senior staff member thinks that your certification programs are so insufficient that certified divers should not dive on their own?
6. What is PADIs stand regarding a senior staff member who tried to influence legislation with uncorroborated wrong facts (assuming that he was not blatantly and knowingly lying)? Mr. Sayag wrote in his first paragraph: I mentioned the fact that Israel is one of the very few countries in the world that every newly certified diver can rent equipment or get his tanks filled the day after his certification and dive alone or with a buddy wherever he wishes. Now, I personally dived in some of the places he mentioned and never found there a place where they had such regulations. Nevertheless in order to corroborate my facts I requested information in an international forum. I have the replies and I can send them to you if you are not sure about my statement (wrong facts by Mr. Sayag).
A copy of this letter was sent to the TAPUZ Israeli Diving Forum and to two international diving forums: rec.scuba and the SCUBA-SE mailing list. I am sure that the hundreds (and maybe more) of participants and readers in these forums will be glad to read your reply.
Kuty
worried scuba diver
Jerusalem, Israel
E-mail:
following is a letter (one of several) sent to PADI which outlines the outrage expressed amoungst israeli divers in a local diving forum - a.e Tapuz diving forum.
let me know what you think and in the poll i'd like to know whether you can dive unaccompanied in your country or have to have a dive leader from the club.
October 6, 2002
To: PADI International
From: Kuty
Dear Sir,
I just found out that one of PADI course directors who also serves as a member of the professional committee of the Israeli Sport Diving Authority wrote a LAW proposal. I was shocked to read the proposal and I wanted to ask you whether it reflects the official PADI policy. The letter was written in Hebrew and I translated it to English for your convenience. If there is a Hebrew reading official in PADI headquarters I would be more than happy to send to you the Hebrew original. Anyway I can assure you that the translation is as close to the original as possible.
Before letting you read the letter I want to mention a few facts for the record. Unlike most of the countries in the world, sport diving in Israel is regulated by LAW. The body which was assigned to monitor this law is the Israeli Sport Diving Authority. This authority formed a professional committee, which consults the authority in professional issues. The majority of the members of the committee are the representatives of the national and international diving organizations. This letter was sent by one of the two (I think) PADI representatives in that committee, Mr. Eyal Sayag, who signs his letter as PADI course director number 909117. The letter is a proposal to change the Israeli diving law.
The letter:
To: Mr. Ran Levin
CEO The Israeli Sport Diving Authority
From: Sayag Eyal
PADI Course Director, Member of the Professional Committee
Subject: A law proposal to rearrange sport diving regulations in Israel
Ran Shalom,
In our last meeting, with all the members of the Professional Committee on May 30 2002 I raised a very important issue concerning scuba gear rental and scuba diving services for the certified divers in Israel. I mentioned the fact that Israel is one of the very few countries in the world that every newly certified diver can rent equipment or get his tanks filled the day after his certification and dive alone or with a buddy wherever he wishes. This negligence must be corrected immediately as we must try to measure up to the international scuba diving community, which authorizes recreational diving only through clubs that operate in the area, in guided dives. For that matter it does not matter what is the certification level of the diver unless they are diving instructors on duty, or commercial divers in countries like: U.S.A., Australia, Mexico, The Caribbean Islands, Thailand, The Maldives, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Any other diver is forbidden to dive on his own and he must dive within a guided program offered by the local club to prevent a number of things.
1. Fatal accidents and deaths of divers who operate independently.
I wish to remind you that every two months when the Committee is assembled there are one or two deaths, which we discuss, that happen in Israel, especially in Eilat. The last one was <name deleted for privacy> and <name deleted for privacy>, and in the next one I am sure that we shall discuss the latest deaths in Eilat of <names deleted for privacy>. These two rented scuba gear in a scuba diving club in Eilat, and went diving to 30 meters to find the YATUSH wreck. Their deaths could have been prevented if they had taken a guided dive with the club.
2. Abiding to the basic regulations of diving and equipment checking before the dive by a professional guide a divemaster or an instructor. This is to prevent light and medium accidents (see the two latest accidents in Eilat on the same Saturday in which the two divers died, of severe decompression cases).
3. Guarding diving sites and preventing damage to important nature resources which disappear and partially destroyed by those independent divers, sometimes on purpose when they harass living creatures or take home souvenirs.
4. Developing sport diving in Israel as a regulated, responsible and safe sport for divers from all ages. Just for your knowledge, the image of the sport in the population is that diving is dangerous and a diver can end up dead, which frightens a lot of people and prevents them from even trying it. Especially in light of the latest cases.
5. Encouraging the Israeli diving population to take enrichment courses in subjects like: navigating, deep diving, wreck diving, night diving, nitrox, perfect buoyancy, first aid, rescue, master diver and assistant instructor even by those who do not wish to work in the industry. These courses will surely improve his status as a diver. I wish to remind you that 80% of the diving population in Israel holds 2 stars and less. This is different from the tourists who come to Eilat and have wide range of certification levels perfectly organized in the logbooks and their willingness to take advanced courses in different levels.
I wish to make it clear that this proposal will not harm the Israeli diver. It will enhance his personal safety and the safety of the marine environment.
The motive for my proposal is professional only and has no financial aspect whatsoever.
My personal opinion is that the Israeli diver in the State of Israel must be coerced to dive only in guided dives unless he is conducting professional work like teaching and instructing, working for an underwater commercial firm, military, police, licensed fishing, archeological research, biological research etc. or when the divers and his buddys certification is DM or above.
Sayag Eyal
<Signature:>
Eyal Sayag
PADI Course Director
No. 909117
Tel. <deleted for privacy>
Copies:
Israeli Sport Diving Authority Inspectors
Representative of PADI Israel
Representative of SSI Israel
Representative of ACUC Israel
Representatives of NAUI Israel
Representative of TDI and NAUI Israel
Representatives of The Israeli Diving Federation
Representative of IANTD Israel
Dr. Halperin (ISDA doctor)
The letter was scanned and published by an unknown source on the Israeli TAPUZ Diving Forum. This is an Internet Hebrew forum for divers, which has many participants and is read by some of the diving professionals and organization leaders in Israel (we get some replies from them on the forum from time to time so this is a safe assumption). After it was published its authenticity was confirmed by one of the Israeli Sport Diving Authority officials. I think that you can imagine the aggravation this letter provoked among the diving community in Israel.
I have a few questions:
1. Is it PADIs official policy that PADIs certification program (as well as other agencys programs) is so inadequate that certified divers are not properly trained to dive unattended by a DM or an instructor, in a non guided dive?
2. Is it PADIs official policy that PADIs certification program (as well as other agencys programs) is so inadequate that certified divers are not sufficiently trained to perform satisfactory pre-dive equipment checks?
3. Does PADI have a nature awareness and preservation content in its basic courses?
4. If so, is it PADIs official policy that PADIs certification program (as well as other agencys programs) is so inadequate that certified divers should be accompanied at all times by a DM or an instructor as the only way to prevent damages to the marine life?
5. If these are not PADIs official policies is PADI aware of the fact that one of your senior staff member thinks that your certification programs are so insufficient that certified divers should not dive on their own?
6. What is PADIs stand regarding a senior staff member who tried to influence legislation with uncorroborated wrong facts (assuming that he was not blatantly and knowingly lying)? Mr. Sayag wrote in his first paragraph: I mentioned the fact that Israel is one of the very few countries in the world that every newly certified diver can rent equipment or get his tanks filled the day after his certification and dive alone or with a buddy wherever he wishes. Now, I personally dived in some of the places he mentioned and never found there a place where they had such regulations. Nevertheless in order to corroborate my facts I requested information in an international forum. I have the replies and I can send them to you if you are not sure about my statement (wrong facts by Mr. Sayag).
A copy of this letter was sent to the TAPUZ Israeli Diving Forum and to two international diving forums: rec.scuba and the SCUBA-SE mailing list. I am sure that the hundreds (and maybe more) of participants and readers in these forums will be glad to read your reply.
Kuty
worried scuba diver
Jerusalem, Israel
E-mail:
