President Isaac Herzog presented two Magen David Adom volunteers, Amal Falah and Zohar Khobra, with awards in recognition of their dedication to volunteering for MDA.
Falah has been a volunteer ambulance driver at MDA’s Ma’alot station in the Western Galilee for the past four years. Falah’s neighborhood in the village of Kisra-Sumei has been under fire recently, as has all of Northern Israel, and its residents have frequently endured sirens and even explosions. As a member of MDA’s immediate response unit, Falah is an ambulance driver.
“I serve a shift on the ambulance in Ma’alot, but even when I get home, my commitment doesn’t end,” says Falah. “When there is a medical emergency in my area, I immediately answer the call, no matter what I’m doing in the moment. The patient’s smile, when he realizes that MDA came to help, is worth everything,” Falah added.
Khobra has volunteered with MDA for 35 years. As part of his volunteer work, he is a counselor, a senior EMT, and serves as an ambulance driver at Kibbutz Sufa near the Gaza Strip. Sadly, Khbora’s son, Ido, was killed on October 7. Khbora, however, continues to volunteer and serve many shifts on his ambulance.
“It’s very exciting to receive this award,” said Khbora. “It’s important for me to say that I am accepting it on behalf of the many MDA volunteers who risked their lives on October 7, among them my good friends, Lior Rudaif and Aviya Hezroni, who were murdered, and Rafi Samet who was shot. All of us kibbutz ambulance drivers share a special bond.”
“I also accept this award on behalf of my former trainees in MDA’s volunteer ambulance drivers course, Ronen Engel, Tal Shoham, Dolev Yehoud, and Lior Ben Yaakov. I have a long and painful list and I accept the award on behalf of everyone, in their honor and on their behalf,” added Khbora.
“What they all have in common is the spirit of volunteerism and caring for others, even at the cost of personal risk. It was the same spirit that permeated the members of the kibbutz’s alert squad, including my son Ido, who was killed.”
“Amal and Zohar’s award is a stamp of honor for their great contribution and work to save lives,” remarked MDA director-general Eli Bin. “We congratulate Amal and Zohar and are proud of them.”
“It’s very exciting to receive this recognition for my volunteer activity,” reflected Falah. “More than anything, it’s an additional responsibility to me. This trust makes me more obligated to justify the appreciation.”
The annual ceremony for the President’s Award for Volunteerism was held at the Israeli president’s residence in Jerusalem.
