United Hatzalah of Israel is inviting people from all over the world to take part in it mission to save live in Israel, this year, on Yom Kippur. With thousands of calls received across the country each year on the holiest of days on the Jewish calendar, EMS volunteers are busiest during this day.

“During the holiday when most people in Israel fast and almost no one drives, first response is often easier in terms of the ability to arrive quickly, but more difficult as the call volume rises,” said President and Founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer. “We see a tremendous rise in the amount of hypoglycemic cases, cases of fainting, dehydration and childbirths. In spite of the lack of cars driving on the roads, we actually have more road accidents due to the widespread use of children riding bicycles on major thoroughfares. Many times, even ambulances get involved in accidents with children on bicycles as neither one is expecting the other to be on the roads,” Beer added.

The organization is taking their “Day of Life-Saving Campaign” and breaking it down into hours  in which donors can sponsor an hour of life saving on Yom Kippur. Donating an hour will cost $1,800 dollars and the donors will receive a full itemized report of all EMS calls that were responded to across the country during that hour in a personalized book. The goal of the fundraising drive is to raise $45,000 for the day.

“The Jewish religion believes that charity is one of the three pillars of repentance and one that will help inscribe a person in the book of life for the year to come. In this campaign we are giving people the opportunity to inscribe themselves in the book of life and in the book of life-saving.

To sponsor an hour of life saving please click on the link: https://israelrescue.org/campaigns/yomkippur