By: Josh Hasten – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org
On the cusp of celebrating 20 years, the organization now boasts 950 volunteer first-responders working hand in hand with the Magen David Adom rescue service.
It was the year 2000, at the beginning of the Second Intifada, and Arab terror attacks were being carried out against Israelis on a nearly daily basis throughout the country, and particularly on the roads in Judea and Samaria.
After one particular deadly attack, former Sephardic chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu approached one of his aides, Arie Levy, who had been a volunteer medic and ambulance driver with Magen David Adom (MDA) for about six years, asking why no emergency response organization existed in Judea and Samaria in order to react in a timely manner to save lives.