New Ambulance in Beit Chaggai Dedicated May 8, 2025
Tonight I realized how lucky I am to be part of Hatzalah Judea & Samaria. Sometimes it gets depressing. It’s difficult to learn of terror attack after terror attack; car accident after terrible car accident. Take a look at our posts….that’s what you see. That’s what we experience. And that’s why we were founded. To […]
Organización de emergencia nacida en Judea y Samaria, salvando vidas de judíos y palestinos en el terreno
Este servicio de emergencia de los asentamientos, conoce desde adentro la realidad de los ataques terroristas “Hatzala leló Gvulot”, o sea “Rescate sin fronteras”, es el re- lativamente nuevo nombre de la organización de emergencia “Hatzala Yehuda VeShomron”, o sea “Rescate Judea y Sama- ria”, que tiene ahora también una división internacional y ha asistido […]
Security Report for 19May2021
Things are quieting down with the Gaza border region; according to the IDF, there is a reduction of 80% of missiles being fired toward Israel in the last 12 hours. It is quieting down. Here is a snapshot of the activities reported over our region today…. 9:19 a.m., Arabs throw rocks at vehicles on the […]
Do You Hear the Missiles? This is War
Watch this moving account of our rescuers and their visit to Ashkelon and Sderot during this latest war with Gaza Our rescuers are just ordinary people….but in these times they are extraordinary. There are rockets being fired on Israel….there is little warning. Sometime people can make it into the shelter, sometimes not. It is not […]
Recent Violence on the Roads -18 May 2021
5:40 Arabs throw rocks on Road 446 Deir Kadis Junction Report of damage and a slightly injured child who reached the entrance to Nili 5:45 a.m. Arabs throw rocks on Route 60 north of old British police station 5:50 Arabs throw stones at northern entrance to Efrat 5:55 Arabs throw rocks on the Gush Etzion […]
2020 – A Quick Look Back and Looking at Now
We are upon the end of 2020 and what a year it’s been. Corona since March, along with the rest of the world. Restrictions, masks, social distancing, canceled travel plans, no synagogue, zoom meetings in place of real ones. The world has changed in this way and our lives have all been affected in […]
Chanukah in Israel is a Busy Time for Travel….Our Rescuers Stay Alert
Even with all the positive developments between Israel and Arab countries, and as business develops in this realm, here at home, the terror continues. Just this week at a border crossing, a suspect who refused to halt was shot in the legs in order to prevent a deadly terror attack. During this season, kids are […]
Betar Illit Rooftop Dramatic Rescue
This week, a worker fell from the top of a building in Betar Illit, to a lower floor. There was no way to reach him, or get him down….our medics were called to the scene, and while treating him on site, they organized the fire brigade to carry him down using their large crane. It […]
Winter in Israel… Green
Winter in Israel is Green and Wet and Wonderful in it’s own way. While the rain is sporatic, it removes the dry dust from the air, and turns the brown hills green. The sheep and goats graze now on abundant grass, whereas before they had to search for the nubs. I love this time of […]
Rock Throwing… Imagine it Happens to You
Imagine you are driving home on a seemingly peaceful night. Maybe you are thinking about what to make for dinner, or maybe you are thinking about what you accomplished that day at work. Suddenly….CRASH!!!!!! In the blink of an eye there is glass all over you. Rocks smash your windshield. You can barely see. Somehow […]
Learning on Zoom During Corona Closures
As many of you know, school has changed for our children these past 7 months during the Corona outbreak. Children have been kept at home and classes have gone online in many cases. Back in March, when this happened, it was a novelty. “Being on a computer all day…….no real school….How exciting!” the kids thought. […]
Back to Routine after Sukkoth… But What Routine??
Sukkot is over. Today is when normally, we would get back to routine. But nothing is normal anymore. Here, like the rest of the world, routine has changed because of the Corona pandemic. Our children won’t go back to school until Dec. 27 – after Chanukah! Buses operating on a reduced schedule, with only 50% […]
Still Sukkot… Building up the Land
I’m sitting in my sukkah, fighting off the heat. This week we all have an extra room outside. We eat all our meals in the sukkah, despite the heat of the day. We are obligated by the Torah to do this, to remember our exodus from Egypt, and we take it seriously. It’s simply the […]
Sukkot Approaching… Special Time in Israel
It’s a busy week as we look forward for Sukkot to begin this Friday night with Shabbat. Everyone during this time scrambles to build their sukkah, including us. My boys build it…hopefully it won’t fall down on our heads! This is the one of our favorite holidays. We get an extra room! Also, we spend […]
Rosh haShana in lockdown
I had to write and share with all of you the atmosphere here in Susya right now. It is 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning, and Rosh haShanah begins tonight. The nation-wide closures for Corona begin at 2pm. The kids all morning have been running around delivering candies and notes, wishing their friends and classmates a […]
Rosh haShana – Appreciation
It’s hard to believe how the High Holidays are all-of-a-sudden here, when it seems that just moments ago was summer. It is still hot. We are still obligated to wear masks in public. I guess I thought that magically, the Corona problem would disappear by chaggim time. I was wrong. While the world news on […]
9/11…..My memories
Today is 9/11. I see the photos on my Facebook feed. I read the posts. The memories. I try to scroll past them all. But I can’t. I see friends’ accounts and slowly, slowly, I am sucked back 19 years to that morning on the 33rd floor of Liberty Place, where I was working as […]
Solving Problems
This week in Israel, school began. It is always on September 1st here. And this year was no exception, despite the Corona crisis and new challenges. As the kids scrambled to gather their books and parents did the same, I as usual was late. It’s not that I don’t care about school – I do, […]
Good Friends
This week has been tough. My son crashed the car into a horse, so we are without a car. My son is ok, and that’s the important thing. But it was scary. Our washing machine broke, and the fix-it man broke something while fixing it, so we are still without a machine. Our kitchen […]
Build. And look ahead.
Big families. They are all around me. In Susya many families have six, seven, and eight children and that is normal. We have five. Small for Susya! Whenever there is a chag, we feel it. Whenever there is summer vacation, we feel it. We feel alone. Like immigrants. Tonight, a family rented the […]
Always Be on the Giving Side
I recently had a long conversation with a wise friend of mine. I was complaining. Complaining about what, I can barely remember. But I was whipped around when she said “may we always be on the giving side.” What a great sentiment. That’s a novel goal. I stopped complaining immediately. And realized the privilege I […]
The Nine Days
This week, began the 9 Days. This is known to be a “dangerous” time for Jews no matter where they are. Here in Israel, and in a religious community, it is very clear. The pool is closed. Nobody listens to music. No parties. No meat. No wine. No weddings. No movies on the grass. 2000 […]
Summer nights
About a year ago I watched a movie called Interstellar. It was about a man who went into space to find a new world, because earth was burning up. He had a wife and a young 10-year-old daughter when he left. When he finally found her again, she was an old woman. He had missed […]
Summer in Israel
This summer, like the past 9 summers, I am the Susya pool lifeguard. Everyday my day starts at 6:30 when I greet swimmers; and continues throughout the day. Our summers here in Har Hevron are slow and easy. Not much goes on. That is a blessing. In the summer of 2017, right at the very […]
Building up Our Land
This past week we have been busy. We dedicated a Security Room in Alei Zahav in the Southern Shomron, we installed emergency equipment in Ir David in the Old City of Jerusalem, we dedicated a Library in Kerem Re’im in Binyamin, and we conducted a sophisticated training exercise at the Abu Dis checkpoint, where terror […]
A sure thing
What’s a “sure thing”? This week in Israel, beaches are open, swimming pools and restaurants, life seems normal. Summer is upon us and plans are being made. But just like that, in one day, 100 students were infected in a Jerusalem school. Subsequently, dozens of schools were closed, and thousands of students and faculty were […]
COMPASSION during Corona
COMPASSION That’s what Rescuers Without Borders is good at, among other things. During normal times, here in Israel’s areas of conflict, we are at the ready when emergencies occur be it car accident or terror, heart attack or going into labor. We are there and we are sensitive. NOW – in this time of massive […]
Bouncing Back…
This week, life is feeling normal. There is an average of 15 new cases of coronavirus daily. 1-2 dealths a day. The numbers are decreasing on all fronts Corona-wise and we are suffering from a massive heat wave. It’s always something! Stores opened up and we went to Beer Sheva. Boy, what an adventure! The […]
10 Ways Israel is Fighting the Coronavirus….and Winning
People are asking me, “How did Little Israel get it together in just 6 weeks?” and “How did they flatten the curve so fast?”
I’ve compiled a short list, and summarized the highlights here:
- Quarantine requirements started very early and were taken seriously.
As early as February people arriving to Israel from Italy were directed into 14 day isolation. Soon afterwards, all incoming flights had the same directive, and people adhered to these rules.
- Government tracking. Early on, the Ministry of Health set up an online form for all isolated people, which included infected persons and also travelers who had been abroad. This data led to several apps that were developed for tracking infected people. Individuals were contacted and directed into isolation.
- Emergency Medics kept the hospitals clear; The emergency rescue systems, Magen David Adom and Rescuers Without Borders, working in full coordination, responded to all calls with speed and professionalism. Nobody went to the hospital on his own. All symptomatic people called 101 and waited for a medic to arrive, survey symptoms, administer the Covid-19 test, etc. This allowed the hospitals to work effectively, treating patients. There was no overcrowding and no shortage of equipment or staff.
- Testing Centers were built, which led to early detection – The Ministry of Health built mobile testing centers so people could pull up in their cars, get swabbed, and get results quickly. All this was done in early days of the virus. Early detection sent thousands of citizens into quarantine, limiting the spread of the virus.
- The IDF and other volunteers delivered food – Our young soldiers took part in many “unconventional” tasks from building hospitals in underground parking lots, to delivering food to homebound families in Haredi neighborhoods. Other organizations and private businesses, volunteered as well, delivering games, gifts of encouragement to hospital staff, and more. We had our own “Bravo” campaign and donated cosmetics to the nurses, food cards to the medical staff, and more to keep up morale. Neighborhoods with high infection rates were locked up and soldiers delivered food and medicine, while paying special attention to the elderly who were often living alone.
- Our airlines brought home stranded Israelis from abroad. As Corona hit various countries, flights were cancelled worldwide. Our Israeli airlines El-Al and Israir brought Israelis home at no charge, from Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Australia, Italy and Spain and more places at no charge. These were “rescue missions”. Upon arrival the travelers went into 14-day quarantine. This was a tremendous effort that brought pride to Israel and gave moral support to the entire country. The round trip flight to Peru was a record-breaking 44 hours long.
7. Hotels for quarantine – the Government turned hotels into quarantine centers. Passengers arriving to Ben-Gurion Airport were transported directly to these hotels where they stayed for 14 days with food, entirely free of charge.
8. Ventilators – The innovators behind the Iron Dome converted their factory to a ventilator manufacturing center. Thus, Israel did not suffer a shortage of this life-saving equipment, and was able to produce more.
9. Keeping the rules – Israelis had strict rules to follow. Malls and schools closed; no crowds allowed; No praying in a group. Everyone had to stay 2 meters apart and within 100 meters of home. No guests for Passover seder! This was the toughest for some, who had never been alone before on this special night. What did we do under these orders? We sang from our sidewalks, from our balconies and porches. Communities came together, even though physically apart.
10. Our Leaders – our Prime Minister, led us through this Corona crisis with strength and heart. Almost every night he spoke directly to us. People eagerly anticipated Bibi’s talks, where he explained the science, the statistics, what everything meant. He encouraged us to be strong, to care for our elders, calling them “grandma and grandpa” and making it personal. He did not use fear, he used love. This worked.
Now, we are on our way out of this crisis.
Kol haKavod to the strong people of Israel!!
AIPAC Exhibit 2020 – Success!
In addition to learning about our work, we offered visitors courses with our medic, Eyal, in CPR. But the more popular course was the “15-Second Challenge” where we allowed visitors a chance to tested our anti-ballistic blanket, the Armadillo. This turned out to be pretty competitive. Friends raced against each another, to see who could get covered in under 15 seconds. We had people waiting in line for that!
New Bimbulance in Hevron Donated by Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson Foundation
A generous donation from the Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson Foundation will beef up our effectiveness in Hevron…..with our new electric mini ambulance….the “bimbulance.” Hevron, where we have approximately 80 Jewish families living side by side with 250,000 Arabs – many hostile. Our IDF has 300 men there working round the clock. Our emergency medics […]
Natalie in the US February 2020….check it out
Come see me in any one of the places I’ll be stopping before and after AIPAC…. talking about our daily live in Yehuda and Shomron, the important work of our First Response Medics. Here’s the schedule: donate now!
We’re going to AIPAC!!
FIND US in the Village on Sunday and Monday…..we’ll have a medic with us giving courses during the day… TRAIN WITH OUR ISRAELI MEDIC Learn first aid used in the field everyday – get your own badge when you’re done! 11:00 Cardiac arrest response; Learn how to respond as we do every day. 1:00 Armadillo […]
Mission Report: Ethiopia
SSF conducted a mission in Gondar, Ethiopia, a few weeks ago. Objective: Offer medical assistance to the locals. 600 patients were seen and treated by SSF doctors. SSF also conducted a first aid training course for 63 medical students and the Chief of Pediatrics of Gondar hospital. This one-week mission was very busy, and it […]