“I felt like this was my place, that this was my home”

Magen David Adom in Israel, the national rescue organization, cooperates with Jewish rescue organizations around the world. The connection with the United States Hatzalah Society is a special one. There is a strong friendship between the two organizations that goes back many years. The Hatzalah Society consists of emergency medical organizations in Jewish communities in the United States. Hatzalah Society teams regularly volunteer in their Jewish communities and from time to time even volunteer at MDA, especially during periods of significant security events, such as Operation Protective Edge.

Paramedic Yehezkel Bennett is one of the heads of the Hatzalah Society in Boca Raton, Florida. During Operation Protective Edge he did not think twice and immediately flew to Israel to help the citizens of Israel. At the time, he was stationed in Sderot – as he was this time as well. “We’ve been training for this scenario for 20 years,” Yehezkel says, “and suddenly it happened before our eyes. We were heartbroken. When we heard what happened, we decided it was time for us, the people of Hatzalah, to be in Israel. We are very close to our brothers in the IDF and MDA. Immediately after Simchat Torah, we started planning our arrival. The first team of 12 paramedics flew to Israel and joined MDA personnel in the early days of the war. They served as a kind of vanguard force and were stationed in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot and Jerusalem.

The second team that arrived included 16 paramedics, and by then we could already learn from the experience of the first group. We really felt part of the system despite the language and culture gaps. We felt part of the MDA people. We were stationed in Sderot, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat and Kiryat Malachi.

I chose to be stationed at the MDA Station in Sderot, because I had been there in the past and had a good relationship with the people there. This time, the city itself was really empty. We trained and prepared for the IDF’s ground incursion into Gaza. Throughout the day, we heard explosions, gunshots, missiles and Red Alert sirens in Sderot. One Friday night, Haim Karadi, the region manager, joined us. We prayed together as a team – Israelis and foreigners, religious and secular. We were together: we slept, ate, danced, laughed, cried and prayed together. At one point, the region manager quietly told us that the forces were entering Gaza at that moment, and told us to put on helmets and bulletproof vests. The noise was very loud, the walls of the station really shook. I’m glad I had the privilege of being a part of it. I am an American paramedic who came to help in Israel. I came from far away and at that moment I felt that this is my place, this is my home. I heard the sounds of explosions and knew that IDF soldiers were entering Gaza at that moment. I looked up with tears in my eyes and called out to God. I said, ‘I don’t know why I’m here, but I know this is exactly where I need to be.’

I remember that we were notified of an incident, that there were wounded soldiers and that we must prepare to assist in their evacuation. It was amazing. It was as if someone flicked a switch: from total calm we went into peak alert mode. My colleagues and I went into the bulletproof ambulance with reverence and seriousness. I was together with Yoshi Regler. For me, that was the moment I came for. I felt that this was not just a war or an event that I was called upon to help. I felt that our home was being attacked, and that I am fighting to help the people of Israel, my people.

The connection with Magen David Adom was truly extraordinary. The teams learned a great deal from each other. Three more teams from the Hatzalah Society came after us, and each team stayed for a week. I feel that our presence had an impact. MDA knows that on the other side of the world there are 60 experienced paramedics who know MDA and how it works, and that if they call us, we will come. Besides, our paramedics have now gained hands-on experience in a war setting. We feel honored and privileged to help an organization like MDA,” Yehezkel concludes.