The Minister of Social Equality, Meirav Cohen, took a tour of the United Hatzalah headquarters in Jerusalem with the staff of her bureau on Tuesday. United Hatzalah’s CEO Eli Polak, together with VP of Operations Dov Meisel, Israel Director of Friends of United Hatzalah Linor Atias, Director of Operations Moshiko Moskowitz, and Director of Development Ariel Ben David, and the Director of Knesset Relations at the organization Shavei Rapaport all participated in the tour. Minister Cohen visited the operational dispatch center, which dispatches United Hatzalah volunteers to more than 1,800 emergency calls daily.
The Minister received a broad overview from the heads of the organization of all the activities and projects undertaken by United Hatzalah, including its activities in the war against the Coronavirus.
During the tour, volunteers from the “Ten Kavod” (giving honor) project together with the minister and her entourage surprised an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor with a birthday party. The survivor is someone who receives weekly visits by volunteers from the organization as part of the Ten Kavod project. The volunteers check the man’s vital signs and overall health each week during their visit and spend time with him to alleviate any feelings of loneliness.
Minister Meirav Cohen said after the visit, “United Hatzalah is an organization that is all about saving lives and giving to others. The work of United Hatzalah contributes a lot to the care of others, the unity of the people, and the strengthening of our national resilience. The assistance provided by the organization’s volunteers, arriving at emergencies and providing first aid, arriving at the homes of senior citizens or having a phone call with them to alleviate loneliness, no matter who the needy person is – Jewish, Arab, secular, or ultra-Orthodox, gives us all hope that our ambition to create an exemplary society and a life together is achievable. “
United Hatzalah CEO Eli Polak said, “We thank the Minister of Social Equality, Meirav Cohen, who came to hear firsthand about the various activities of our thousands of volunteers. We are confident that our collaborations that already exist with the Ministry of Social Equality will deepen and expand. We have a common goal to address the needs of the entire population, but we place an emphasis on senior citizens and Holocaust survivors, for whom we are required to take extra special care and give them our attention while providing the best care for the sake of maintaining their health.”
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