After Israeli soccer fans were brutally attacked in Amsterdam, MDA and El Al collaborated on a plan to care for and evacuate them.
Magen David Adom sent a team of paramedics and medical personnel to Amsterdam on Friday to assist with medical care and accompany Israeli soccer fans who had been violently attacked in Amsterdam Thursday night on special El Al flights back to Israel. In addition to MDA paramedics flying to Amsterdam, a delegation of doctors and medics from the MDA international unit in Europe traveled to Amsterdam to assist.
MDA Director-General Eli Bin held an urgent situational assessment with Israeli authorities, including El Al management, to plan for the evacuation of Israelis from Amsterdam who had been hurt in anti-Semitic attacks. The evacuation flight is part of MDA’s commitment to providing quick and comprehensive medical assistance to Israeli citizens, even beyond Israel’s borders, when needed.
“As Israel’s national rescue organization, MDA is ready to assist any citizen of Israel anywhere in the world,” remarked Bin. “Special thanks to El Al for their cooperation and assistance in this complex and important mission.”
The MDA team began their work by assisting hundreds of Israelis already at the airport to return to Israel. They examined 10 men, between the ages of 20-70, who had suffered bruises on their heads and limbs, and helped them board the plane.
“They applauded us and welcomed us happily. This is an important task, and it warms our hearts to know that we, as Magen David Adom, Israel’s Emergency Medical Service, reach everywhere,” said MDA paramedics, Yonat Daskal Dagan, Issachar Weiss, Ofir Shaish, and Israel Weingarten, who were dispatched to Amsterdam. “We will refer some of them for further treatment in a hospital in Israel, but most of them will continue to recover at home,” the paramedics remarked of the injured men.
After assisting the Israelis at the airport, the MDA medical team went to a hotel in Amsterdam where many Israelis were staying, and along with doctors from Belgium and France affiliated with the MDA international unit, examined around 200 people who sought their medical advice in the hotel lobby. Doctors from MDA’s international unit also went to support those who had been brought to the hospital.
“When we learned about the incident, we contacted MDA in Israel who instructed us to go to the hospital in Amsterdam urgently and assist any Israelis who might need it,” said Arie Elmaleh, an EMT who traveled from Paris to help. “The patients we examined in the hotel were very happy to see us in the MDA uniform in Amsterdam. With the help of the local Jewish community, we will escort them from the hotel to the airport and we will stay with them until the moment they board the flight back to Israel,” Elmaleh noted.
“El Al is proud to cooperate with MDA and serve as a crucial anchor in the rescue operation and delivery of medical services to Israelis in Amsterdam. It is both our privilege and our duty,” said El Al CEO Dina Ben-Tal Ganacia.
