Israel@70 Special Section

APRIL 2018 | NISAN/IYYAR 5778

Local funding helps inspire Israel’s disadvantaged youth

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing

Shlomi Avni, who spoke at a community program here last February, meets with Lewis and Roberta Gaines, who are providing support for his Nirim in the Neighborhoods program.

For almost 15 years, Nirim has helped kids in Israel who were struggling – at a youth village, but also right in their own neighborhoods.

“These are kids on the street where Nirim is the last chance,” said Jeri Zimmerman, assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, who is intimately familiar with the project. “Working with the kids where they are and in the neighborhood is really quite unique.”

On a trip to Israel last year, Zimmerman introduced Nirim’s CEO, Shlomi Avni, to Lehigh Valley couple Lewis and Roberta Gaines. Avni spoke in the Lehigh Valley in 2017 about his experience as an Israeli Navy seal.

The Gaineses agreed to help Avni renovate three clubhouses in his neighbor-

hoods. On a visit to the States this March, Avni updated the couple about the project.

He has curated bids and secured furniture for the clubhouses, so “everything is ready,” he told them. Right after Passover, the real work was to begin.

“On the one hand, we are in a great position because we can open more projects,” Avni said, adding that now that Nirim has become more wellknown in Israel and throughout the world, more and more municipalities want their own outposts.

“We are struggling and surviving from year to year, expanding each year,” he said.

Nirim’s neighborhood programs have seen more than 500 graduates over the years. Another 250-300 kids have “graduated” from the youth village. Each year’s class gets bigger as more projects pop up.

Youth Futures gives Israeli children the gifts of self-confidence and empowerment

By Nathan Roi The Jewish Agency for Israel Editor’s Note: The Jewish Agency for Israel is a partner organization of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

Eden Adir’s mother, Zohar, acknowledges that she “can listen to Eden as a mother, but there are some things I can’t solve.” That’s where The Jewish Agency’s Youth Futures program has come in, playing a transformational role in 13-year-old Eden’s life for the past four years by providing her with much-needed mentorship outside of a home setting.

Eden, who originally joined the Youth Futures program at YokneamMegiddo as a 4th-grader, calls the program “a place where I can come to

and talk about everything, where I can see the whole picture of all the elements of my life. It is also a place to breathe, to do something private.”

Established in 2006, Youth Futures helps children, young adults, families, and communities throughout Israel realize the vision of social change. The program is active in 36 locations and 200 schools, deploying 300 mentors who serve more than 12,000 students annually from elementary school through junior high school.

Youth Futures mentors are local young adults, professionally trained to guide 16 children in different circles of intervention: personal, familial, social, and educational, with an emphasis on full parental involvement and partnership in a long-term process spanning

three to five years. Each participating community also has a family and community coordinator who works to help families access the social services to which they are entitled, teaches parenting skills, helps parents manage their budgets, and harnesses the resources of the community to build a positive educational environment for all children.

Eden recalls that she joined Youth Futures because her school counselor “suggested I should have a fixed framework, and have someone with whom I wouldn’t have to do lots of things in order to set up a meeting and talk to them.”

Youth Futures trustee (mentor) Ravit Youth Futures Continues to page 3

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“In these neighborhoods, the poverty chain is being duplicated generation after generation and you have to break the chain,” Avni said.

“We can see the light of becoming a national phenomenon.”

“It’s a good investment,” Zimmerman added.

As Israel celebrates its 70th year and looks ahead, Nirim is helping more and more citizens to become contributing members of society, Avni said. Instead of staying on the streets, most graduates are serving in the Israeli army, getting decent jobs and contributing to the country’s future.

“I think that the future of Israel, like any country, is the younger generation,” Avni said. “The fact that we choose to work with kids from complicated backgrounds … we are reducing poverty and its very meaningful for these neighborhoods.”

Leaving home Continues from page 1, front section

Rina, age five We settled in a few houses in the community. From that time I remember that we were outside hiking and playing. Our preschool building was located in an old packing factory and jackals were roaming around the building. I remember our teacher shouting to try and scare them away. During the nights, the jackals were howling, and it was hard for me to sleep.

During our time in Hadar, my baby brother Yehuda was terribly sick with meningitis and my mother was with him in the hospital for the whole time, and I was left on my own with the rest of the children in Hadar. Gladly, he recovered and he and my mom came back to Hadar.

When the war ended, we returned to Kfar Menachen.

I remember the date – it was October 29, 1948. We were very happy to return, and all the adults were overjoyed to see the children again. The kibbutz was still barricaded, but things began to go back to normal. We put all our clothes and games back to their place, and returned to our daily routines.

How one woman is making change for Israel’s at risk youth

By Alex Weisler eJewish Philanthropy Editor’s Note: This article is originally appeared on eJewishPhilanthropy.com. The organization “Ashalim” is an American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee initiative. JDC is a partner of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

As high-profile women around the world step into the spotlight for International Women’s Day, it’s critically important to remember those women at the grassroots who are changing individual lives and the course of the societies they live in.

Tali Eliyaou is one of those women, and today she is shaping the lives of young Israeli women, and others, at risk.

She draws from her own history as an Ethiopian Israel woman, and new immigrant to Israel, to make it happen.

As a teenager, Eliyaou lived in one of Israel’s youth villages – boarding schools originally set up to house orphaned young Holocaust survivors that now educate Ethiopian-Israelis like herself and other immigrants, as well as young Israelis from difficult homes and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Back then, there wasn’t much institutional support for youth village alumni, more than 90 percent of whom come from poor families.

Young people who had spent their adolescent years in a 24/7 supportive environment faced many challenges post-graduation. Often they were returning home to communities they were no longer connected to and were unsure how to navigate Israel’s array of supportive social services to achieve their dreams.

That’s all changing now, thanks to “You Have an Address,” a groundbreaking partnership between the Israeli Ministry of Education and the

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s initiative for Israeli children, youth, and young adults at risk called Ashalim.

“You Have an Address” – launched as a pilot program in 2016 and scaled up to operate nationally in 2017 – aims to build a support system for youth village alumni aged 18 to 26; it operates today in 43 youth villages, reaching approximately 3,000 young adults at risk.

Professionals like Eliyaou, who works at the WIZO Nachalat Yehuda youth village in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon LeZion, mentor young adults, first teaching them it’s permissible to dream of a better future and then encouraging and working with them to develop the concrete action plans that will take them there. They address a range of needs – from army service and employment to housing and continuing education.

“Today there isn’t a single graduate who falls through the cracks,” she said. “All of us look out for them, each and every one of them. There’s a solution for every individual.”

Eliyaou works hard to devise a personal approach for each student she works with, taking into account their challenges but also their unique passions and talents – half the work, she says, involves bolstering selfconfidence.

“We start with: What needs to be done to fulfill your dream? What are you lacking? What are the obstacles?

What are the possibilities? What services can you access?” she said.

“Many times they don’t believe in themselves and their own capabilities because during their time in the youth village, they were given almost everything.”

One of Eliyaou’s mentees is 25-year-old Ethel Feigman, who dreams of a career as a singer and perhaps even as the founder of a

specialized educational institution for talented young musicians and artists.

“The work with Tali has helped me a great deal, helped me to really understand my own strength and research how I can achieve my goals,” she said. “It gives you a lot of strength to know there’s a professional who’s always there for you, so you don’t feel like you’ve finished high school, finished army service, and are now lost and totally alone. The support helps a lot.”

With Eliyaou’s guidance, Feigman set manageable short- and long-term goals for herself and was connected with working professionals in her chosen field, tapping into “reinforcement, tools, and possibilities I wasn’t aware of at all.”

Feigman said Eliyaou excels at her job because she “truly listens,” adding that there’s great power in having a strong woman as her role model.

“When I think of my dreams, then Tali is the address,” she said. “I can always go to her, and she’ll always receive me with a smile.”

The program has hundreds of individual success stories like Feigman’s, but it’s also having a wider effect on Israeli society as a whole. And that impact will only grow larger when the Ministry of Education officially takes responsibility for the program in 2021.

“Israel in general is concerned with teaching our young people to become better citizens and contribute to and care about our country,” Eliyaou said.

“That’s what we do, and that’s really what they turn into.”

For Eliyaou, Feigman and countless other young Israeli women forging a path to success and a brighter future, every day is a day to empower one another, their communities, and all those seeking a better tomorrow.

Youth Futures Continues from page 2

Grossman has helped Eden cope with various life events, including difficulties at home.

“We did creative things,” says Eden. “We made a portrait that describes growth in general, and mine in particular. It was an artistic work which we not only did for art’s sake, and which emphasized emotions.”

“Being [with Youth Futures] means enjoying a sense of quiet,” she adds. “I could also come to talk to Ravit outside of the regular hours. I have a sense of calm and confidence when talking to her.”

Zohar describes how Youth Futures has eased her daughter’s transitions, including from 6th to 7th grade (the start of junior high school).

“It helped Eden a lot that Ravit, the trustee, was with her throughout 6th grade and helped her get ready for 7th grade. The fact that Ravit is there gives Eden a sense of security, and alleviates the problems of acclimatization,” Zohar says.

Ravit says Eden “can talk for 45 minutes, nonstop, about things which are pure emotions. She brings everything to the room, and with the help of our conversations I start processes—comprehensive treatment with the grade teacher, counselor and parents—and I devise an individual program which empowers her.”

“I am certain that Eden will succeed in anything she chooses,” Ravit says. “When something is important for her she is very focused on the goal, and she goes all the way with it.”

Youth Futures has been operating at YokneamMegiddo for 11 years, and currently supports 112 children and families through a team of seven

trustees, a community and family coordinator, and program director Yaniv Turgeman.

“Each child meets with the trustee, individually, once a week,” says Yaniv. “Group activity takes place once a week. There is also, naturally, system-based work with professionals in education, welfare, the psychological services and formal education.”

Youth Futures is a particularly crucial resource in Yokneam, whose population includes a significant number of immigrant families from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union, single-parent families, and families “in which the parents are busy with making a living and not with parenting,” according to Yaniv.

“The idea is to empower the children, to enable them to boost their self-confidence and strengths, through the personal relationship—through this the children share their personal challenges, whether they are in the home or with other children,” Yaniv explains. “This is a challenge that sometimes reveals complexities, but also gives the child a safe place to talk about their inner feelings and then to go out with their head held high. That enables the child to tend to their studies and make friends.”

Eden says that without Youth Futures, “I wouldn’t have had the confidence I have today. I would have missed the conversations outside the home, the listening … I know I am in safe hands.”

ISRAEL@70 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | APRIL 2018 3

US firefighters and police turn to an Israeli app to save lives

Here is an example of how Edgybees’ app layers 3D elements over live video.

By Abigail Klein Leichman Israel21C When Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys in September 2017, the new First Response app from Israeli-American company Edgybees helped first-responders identify distress calls in flooded areas.

When wildfires hit Northern California a month later, the app steered firefighters away from danger.

This lifesaving augmented-reality app — designed only months before as an AR racing game for drone enthusiasts — is now used by more than a dozen fire and police departments in the United States, as well as the United Hatzalah emergency response network in Israel.

The app orients rescuers

in confusing environments and helps them track rapidly evolving circumstances.

Patent-pending algorithms collect real-time data from fast-moving cameras mounted on drones, cars or bodyworn accessories, enabling three-dimensional elements such as street maps, power lines, infrastructure and distress signals to be layered over live video.

So how did a fun game turn into a serious rescue aid?

It all started in 2016, when Israeli dad Adam Scott Kaplan – a former executive of successful technology companies Xennex, Athoc, Digital Guardian and Tonian – caught the drone bug from his friend Menashe Haskin, who managed the Israeli development office of Amazon

4 APRIL 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | ISRAEL@70

Prime Air and holds some 35 U.S. patents in aerospace, video and vision processing, data processing and communication.

“I bought myself a DJI drone and began filming my daughter sea surfing,” Kaplan tells ISRAEL21c. “I quickly got bored, and — crazy entrepreneur that I am — I started flying between trees and rocks to compete with myself.

But when a drone hits a tree, the tree wins. Menashe and I discussed it and decided to develop a game. DJI loved the concept and released it last May.” As the first AR game for DJI drone users, Drone Prix AR was a smash hit especially with new drone pilots wanting to master their skills in a fun, safe and immersive way.

Edgybees, the company formed behind the game, is led by Kaplan (CEO), Haskin (CTO) and robotics and drone expert Nitay Megides (director of platform).

ON THE FLY Before long, DJI’s publicsafety officer and authorities from American fire and police departments approached Edgybees about adapting the technology for real environments.

“Over 1,000 police de-

partments in the U.S. are now using drones in lieu of helicopters,” says Kaplan. But drones lacked a technology for real-time mapping over video, and this is exactly what Edgybees could provide.

Just when the company started testing the app with several police and fire departments, hurricane season hit Florida.

“We were asked if our software could help, so we had to work 24/7 to get it up and running,” says Kaplan.

“We had the maps working offline because they had no cell-phone coverage.”

Kaplan spoke about the successful Florida deployment of First Response at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., alongside Ryan English of Tampa-based FlyMotion, whose drone operators used the app to orient rescuers during Hurricane Irma.

Edgybees works with a host of public-safety companies and government agencies through distribution agreements with DJI and others.

EXPANDING TO OTHER MARKETS A $5.5 million seed round will help Edgybees expand to commercial sectors that use high-speed imaging, such as

real estate, urban planning, smart cities, construction, automotive, broadcast media and security.

While Apple and Google have launched AR kits for phones, Edgybees’ technology is a sort of unique AR kit for full-motion video streaming from drones, cars and CCTV, says Kaplan.

“What started as technology powering a racing game is now saving lives around the world. The overwhelming response by commercial and industrial drone users looking to leverage AR, and partner with us in the fields of fire, public safety and search-andrescue has been amazing, and we can’t wait to expand the next set of drone applications into new markets.”

One backer, Verizon Ventures, is interested in Edgybees’ ability to bring AR to its car and drone fleet management as well as immersive consumer digital experiences.

Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, OurCrowd and 8VC also invested in the seed round.

Edgybees’ development team is situated in an Israeli beach town near Kfar Vitkin – because drones may not be flown in cities – and the company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

15 Israeli inventions making life better for billions

By Abigail Klein Leichman Israel21C In the beginning, there was Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.

Eight and a half years after Dan Senor and Saul Singer’s bestseller shed light on Israel’s implausibly successful startup ecosystem, Avi Jorisch created “Thou Shalt Innovate: How Israeli Ingenuity Repairs the World” to highlight Israeli inventions fulfilling the Jewish passion for tikkun olam.

Released by Gefen Publishing House on March 1, 2018, “Thou Shalt Innovate” provides 15 case studies of how Israelis of all faiths are “making life better for billions of people around the world and how Israeli ingenuity is helping to feed the hungry, cure the sick and provide shelter for the homeless,” Jorisch writes.

Speaking to ISRAEL21c from his home in Washington, D.C., Jorisch discussed what led to choosing those 15 examples: drip irrigation, United Hatzalah, Iron Dome, the Grain Cocoon, the Tabor rooftop solar water collector, ReWalk, Alpha Omega’s GPS for deep brain stimulation, Check Point’s Firewall-1, PillCam, SpineAssist, the Emergency Bandage, Rebif, cannabis research, reducing

plane-bird collisions and reviving an ancient date palm.

The concept came to him in the wee hours just after returning from Israel with his family in the summer of 2014.

Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza that summer left him depressed over the diminishing prospects for peace in his lifetime.

“I suddenly realized there is an amazing story to be told not only about the Israeli technology that Saul Singer and Dan Senor described, but about what Israel does with this technology to improve lives around the globe,” he tells ISRAEL21c.

On that sleepless night, Jorisch Googled terms like “Israeli innovation,” “tikkun olam” and “improving the world” and quickly compiled a list of about 100 impactful Israeli innovations.

THE ESSENCE OF MODERN ISRAEL The next stage involved two years of research and interviews with 126 people in Israel and other countries, many of them multiple times, in person or via phone or Skype.

Narrowing his list at first to 50 innovations (listed in the back of the book), he then zeroed in on 15 that showed Israeli ingenuity in science, water, medicine, defense and

agriculture.

And he discovered stories about each of them on ISRAEL21c.

“That made my research much easier. The ISRAEL21c articles gave me another line of questions to ask and opened the aperture, providing another line of thinking to go down,” says Jorisch, an entrepreneur who writes widely on business, political and cultural issues.

People who saw early versions of the manuscript told him they felt inspired, regardless of their political leanings.

“Israel is not a nation of saints but it has been seeking a higher meaning for 3,000 years,” says Jorisch. “We are fulfilling, in a very powerful way, the call of our prophets to feed the hungry and help the needy. Israel’s founding fathers were inspired by these teachings and baked it into the fabric of the society they were building. That is the essence of modern Israel.”

At the same time, he adds, improving the world is not an exclusively Jewish compulsion. He also included Israeli Christians and Muslims who similarly “believe we’re partners with God in social justice to make the world a better place.”

Jorisch began a circuit of author talks with several

appearances at the AIPAC Policy Conference, March 4-6 in Washington.

He envisions that the Israeli Foreign Ministry will play a role in publicizing the book, which he hopes will interest not only American Jews but also Christian evangelicals as well as the business world. In his talks he will likely mention many other Israeli innovations.

“Any of the top 50 I list in the back of the book would have merited an amazing story. There is no lack of material on Israeli innovations that have improved the lives of billions,” says the author.

Jorisch’s previous four books are “Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hizballah’s Al-Manar Television” (2004), “Tainted Money: Are We Losing the War on Money Laundering and Terrorism Finance?”

(2009), “On the Trail of Terror Finance: What Law Enforcement and Intelligence Officials Need to Know” and “Iran’s Dirty Banking: How the Islamic Republic Skirts International Financial Sanc-

tions” (both published in 2010).

Writing “Thou Shalt Innovate” made Jorisch feel extraordinary hopeful about Israel’s future, he says.

“This book and the ideas expressed in it have opened my mind to the awe-inspiring place Israel is at its heart and soul,” he says. “Israel has many extraordinary innovators who are bound together not by religion, money or stature, but rather by their desire to save lives and make the world a better place.”

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A special Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration

By Michelle Cohen HAKOL Editor This year, the Jewish community of the Lehigh Valley will celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut like never before with IsraelFest, an Israeli street fair complete with Israeli food, vendors and entertainment for all ages.

The event is being presented by the Lehigh Valley Jewish Clergy Group, the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley, the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley in partnership with congregations throughout the Lehigh Valley.

“We are proud to celebrate Israel @70 and this momentous occasion should be marked by special events,” said Federation Assistant Executive Director Jeri Zimmerman. “We are excited to participate as a community in an Israeli festival that creates a

fun and engaging atmosphere for all ages and highlights the unique, strong and ongoing relationship between our community and the state of Israel.”

“We are generating a joyful feeling of celebrating this special landmark that will culminate in a community-wide Israel @70 event on April 19,” said Sandy Newman, JCC Acting Managing Director. “There’s no better way to celebrate Israel and the community than by bringing everyone together to express our solidarity with the state of Israel and enjoy an afternoon of fun.”

Stay tuned for more details about this exciting event!

Celebrate Israel’s birthday with dinner and a movie

IsraelFest will take place on Thursday, April 19, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the JCC. Admission is free and open to everyone. Food and some activities will be available for a charge. To learn more, visit. jewishlehighvalley.org/israelat70.

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing The Jewish community will kick off Israel’s birthday celebration with an Israeli tasting menu paired with a screening of the documentary “In Search of Israeli Cuisine.”

The event will take place on Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the JCC. The menu will feature Israeli classics including falafel, chopped salads, tahini, hummus, baba ganoush and roasted vegetables.

From there, the documentary will transport viewers to Israel, following

Chef Michael Solomonov as he seeks out the best of Israel’s culinary experiences.

Solomonov is a James Beard Award winning chef and co-owner of the acclaimed Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia.

The idea for the documentary came about when director Roger Sherman visited Israel for the first time in 2010. He was surprised to find a vibrant restaurant scene in Tel Aviv that rivals New York, San Francisco, London and Paris, according to the film’s website. More and more Jerusalem restaurants are becoming “must-

experience destinations” and the country’s 350 boutique wineries are gaining international acclaim.

“In just 30 years, Israel has gone from having no fine food to call its own to a cuisine that is world-renowned,” Sherman found.

In 2013, Sherman returned with his crew and filmed at over 100 locations in Israel.

“The food traditions are incredible diverse – Moroccan, Persian, Lebanese, French, Italian and Russian – Jewish, Arab, Palestinian, Christian and Druze, kosher and non-kosher, secular and religious,” Sherman found, according to the website.

“Home cooks are preserving their grandmothers’ recipes and dynamic chefs are updating them.”

The filmmakers followed Solomonov into “hot restaurants and home kitchens, wineries and cheese makers, he eats street food and visits markets,” the site continues.

“All over the country, he discusses traditions, ingredients, the origins and the future of Israeli cuisine.”

The film won the audience awards at the Palm Beach and Cherry Hill Jewish film festivals in 2016.

Join the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation for “A Taste of Israel” on Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the JCC. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling the Federation at 610-821-5500, emailing mailbox@jflv.org or visiting www.jewishlehighvalley.org/israelat70.

6 APRIL 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | ISRAEL@70

Ambucycle driver continues to save lives

Editor’s Note: As a special part of celebrating the Maimonides Society’s 30th anniversary, the Maimonides Society chose to fund an ambucycle (Ambucycle #709) as part of their campaign. Ambucycles are used extensively in Israel with its narrow roads and high traffic congestion and dramatically reduce the arrival time for medical first responders. Below is a story from United Hatzalah, who the Lehigh Valley partnered with in this incredible opportunity, about the ambucycle’s volunteer driver, Daniel.

Daniel continues to do amazing work with your ambucycle! Recently, unbeknownst to Daniel, a community paramedic captured footage of him racing off to save lives. The video was later shared with colleagues and posted to an international ALS Facebook page for paramedics, showing the pride and recognition felt in Israel (and throughout the world) for the United Hatzalah ambucycles and their rapid response times.

Daniel’s neighbors know about his volunteer work with United Hatzalah and often see the Lehigh Valley’s ambucycle parked out in front of his home. Recently, one Friday afternoon, just as families across Israel were preparing to welcome in Shabbat, a panicked neighbor from down the block called to Daniel to come quickly: “Help! My grandfather collapsed!” The devoted EMT alerted United Hatzalah headquarters and raced to the scene on the ambucycle, arriving on location less than 30 seconds later.

Daniel found the elderly man unconscious, with dangerously low glucose levels.

The seasoned medic swiftly administered glucogel to stabilize the patient’s bloodsugar levels as he completed a thorough assessment.

Within minutes, thanks to

Celebrating Purim in Israel

By Leah Mueth Special to HAKOL Purim truly is the happiest time in Israel. At school, the week leading up to the holiday was similar to spirit weeks at high schools. Each day had a different theme and there were parties happening all around which led up to a carnival the day before break started. It made it difficult to do my job, but in Israel you have to go with the flow, and it was not a bad way to spend time at school. The days of the actual holiday were essentially magical and happiness was contagious. Unlike Halloween where I have never felt obligated to wear a costume even on the actual holiday, I felt as if I’d be mildly ostracized if I wasn’t at least wearing some sort of cute costume accessory for the four days of celebration. Everyone around town was wearing something, and I made sure to have a butterfly headband available at all times. Seeing everyone all over Israel participate with giant smiles on their faces, I truly understood why Jews consider Purim to be the holiest holiday.

Photo of a home in Jerusalem that is very proud that the house number is 18.

Daniel’s rapid intervention, the patient began regaining consciousness. When the ambulance crew finally arrived, they found the man prepped, stable and ready for transport.

In another recent call, one Sunday afternoon Daniel received an urgent alert from United Hatzalah dispatch.

A young boy was having violent seizures. Daniel arrived at near lightning speed to ensure the boy’s safety, secure a clear airway and provide high-flow oxygen.

By the time the ambulance arrived on scene, thanks to Daniel’s lifesaving intervention, the little boy’s condition had stabilized.

The grateful family later wrote a letter full of thanks to Daniel for his “holy” work as a volunteer first responder with United Hatzalah.

Thank you for caring for the people of Israel and enabling Daniel to be an “angel” of rescue to so many people!

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