ZAKA officials, including Dubi Weissenstern, the organization’s CEO, and Moshe Rozenberg, its executive director in the US, will discuss the importance of civilian first-responders at next week’s Jerusalem Post Washington Conference, December 9-10.
ZAKA is the Israeli emergency response service that responds to natural disasters, road accidents, murders, and terrorist attacks, whose volunteers engage in dignified handling and identification of the deceased.
“Government authorities around the world must begin recognizing civilian first-responders as a significant and legitimate force,” says Weissenstern. We know that local civilians are the first responders in a very substantial percentage of cases. It is essential to treat them as a meaningful frontline force.
“Organizations such as ZAKA are highly trained, with a clear mission, and their capabilities are well established. In Israel, this model works thanks to close cooperation among the government, non-profit organizations, and civilian organizations. I believe the world needs to learn from us.” He added that ZAKA is collaborating with the National Sheriffs’ Association in the United States, and together with the Sheriffs’ Association, is advancing mutual cooperation between Israel and the United States.
ZAKA’s motto, says Weissenstern, is “First to Respond, Last to Leave.” “We are the first to respond in order to save lives, and the last to leave only after we have completed our work, providing dignity for the deceased.”
Speaking of the resilience displayed by ZAKA members during the difficult days of the war, and by the Jewish people as a whole over the past two years, Weissenstern says, “We are a nation of heroes; we are a nation with immense resilience. We do not break—and we will not break. We have a future, because we have a past, a present, and a future. Just as we only truly understood the meaning of the Holocaust, or the meaning of the Crusades, through the lens of those who came after, because they had a future – because we, their children, were their future. Thanks to the strong present and the powerful resilience they had, we — this generation — are here today in the Land of Israel, continuing through this same cycle. Resilience means this: Am Yisrael Chai – the Jewish people live, with all its strength — steadfast, strong, and brave — even while paying an unbearably heavy price.”
The Jerusalem Post Washington Conference will be led by Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress. A staunch defender of Israel and a leading advocate for the global Jewish community, Lauder has accepted this role with a deep sense of mission and commitment to strengthen Israel’s standing on the international stage and to deepen the bond between the State of Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.
Written in collaboration with ZAKA