United Hatzalah “Represents the best of the Israeli people
The nominee for the position of the new U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, said in his confirmation testimony on Thursday, that Israel’s volunteer community-based EMS organization United Hatzalah “Represents the best of the Israeli people – all the Israeli people – and gives me a strong sense of optimism that peace will one day come to this region of conflict.”
His full statement about the organization and his testimony were as follows:
“My father’s values are my values. I could never replicate the contribution that he made to his community and country — he was certainly of the greatest generation. I have never been called upon to
sacrifice in the same manner as so many of that generation, and I have been blessed beyond measure by the vast opportunities that America has bestowed upon me. But I have sought meaning and fulfillment in life through my faith, my incredible family, and through various philanthropic endeavors. Let me describe one of those endeavors now. I was an early supporter of United Hatzala, an Israeli organization of volunteer first responders that uses advanced technology and “ambucycles” to weave through traffic to provide emergency services and save lives. Here’s what makes Hatzala so special: It is comprised of
volunteers from the entire spectrum of the Israeli population – Jews, Muslims and Christians, religious and secular, right-wing and left-wing. They all operate under a single credo: treat patients in the order of the severity of their affliction and never let any other considerations – political, religious or otherwise – influence your commitment to saving lives. Hatzala represents the best of the Israeli people – all the Israeli people – and gives me a strong sense of optimism that peace will one day come to this region of conflict.”
To see his full testimony click here:
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/
Eli Beer, President and Founder of Untied Hatzalah welcomed the comments and said the following: “Mr. Friedman has been a true friend of our organization for many years. He has been a strong supporter of our inclusive policies which bring people from all backgrounds and religions in Israel to work together to save lives. When I met Mr. Friedman 20 years ago I saw the true love he had for helping others. He was very excited that United Hatzalah is comprised of volunteers from all sectors of the Israeli population, Jews, Arabs, Christians, Druze, and Bedouin who all work together every day to save lives. All 3,200 hundred of our volunteers wish Mr. Friedman a lot of success in his important task of representing the President and people of the United States in Israel.”
