Page 4 - Boca ViewPointe - December '23

Page 4, Viewpointe December 2023
Israel At War / Magen David Adom Response

By Yishai Mizrahi

Dear Friends,
The last 2 months have
been very difficult, as on
the morning of October
7th, we all awoke to the
horrors of the Hamas
attack. As of the time of
this writing, 1,400 Israelis
killed, with hundreds more
unidentified, 240 plus
kidnapped. We all have been glued to the television sets,
watching, crying and listening, checking on our families
as this war unfolds. The heroes of Magen David Adom
have been doing the same, working around the clock, and
running towards danger in order to care for the injured.
Magen David Adom alone has lost over 10 personnel in
the line of duty working to save lives.

Ambulance Airlifted to Israel

I wanted to share with you another incredible story of
how donors here in the United States have impacted Israel
during this difficult time. The context is key, Magen David
Adom has lost 16 ambulances since October 7th, both
during the initial attack and rocket fire since.
Operation Air Train had one mission. It sounded
impossible. Americans wanted to get ambulances to Israel
during a war. That meant doing something they’ve always
done in a way they’ve never done it.
Yoav Halper’s phone rang on the worst Saturday morning
of his life with a call that he was expecting.
It was a few hours after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7
when Halper first heard from his contacts at Magen David
Adom, the country’s national ambulance and paramedic
organization. They needed as many ambulances as they could
get as fast as they could get them—and they knew just the
person to call.
Halper would play a vital role in the response to the
deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. He runs a company
that imports emergency vehicles to Israel, which usually means Israel At War on page 5
shipping ambulances from the U.S. by ocean freighter. But he
couldn’t wait months for them to arrive in this case. There was
only one way to help in time.
He would have to figure out how to make ambulances fly.
“After I got the phone call,” he said, “I quickly understood
that we are facing a very big logistics event.”
This very big logistics event that began on a Saturday
morning ended the next Friday afternoon when a cargo plane
touched down near Tel Aviv.
Inside the belly of that Boeing 747 were vans donated by Do you know a family member,
Americans, transformed into ambulances in Indiana, driven to
New York on flatbeds and flown to Israel. They were lowered friend or a neighbor in need of
to the tarmac, outfitted with medical supplies and dispatched
around a country at war. Home Health Care?
It’s a journey that normally lasts several months. This one
was over in less than a week.
The mission to airlift 17 ambulances on four different cargo
flights depended on a small team of people working across
the world and around the clock. To accomplish it took a lot of Home Health Aides / Certified Nursing Assistants / Registered Nurses to assist you with:
choreography and more than a little chutzpah. If other logistical
operations are puzzles, this one was more like a Rubik’s Cube. • Personal Care • Companionship • Respite Care • Alzheimers & Dementia Care
They knew what had to happen. What they didn’t know was • Medication Management • Transportation • Meal Preparation
how to make it happen in the least amount of time. • Light Housekeeping • Grocery Shopping • Post Surgery Care
The companies and nonprofits responsible for what they
call “the air train” had decades of experience moving rescue
vehicles from the U.S. to Israel. But this was the greatest Complimentary In-Home Consultation
challenge of their careers.
Success meant doing something they’ve always done in a Care provided in the comfort of your Home, Hospital, or Facility
way they’ve never done it.
“Never even anything close to it,” said Tom Moleski, We accept All Long Term Care Insurance Policies and Private Pay – Affordable Rates
a founder of Medix Specialty Vehicles, which converted
American vans into Israeli ambulances. Family owned and operated. Boca Resident for 30+ years and Boca Pointe Members.
The person at the center of the action was Yoav Halper, 40,
who coordinated the effort from Tel Aviv, taking cover with CALL TODAY: 561.740.8667
his toddler twins several times a day at the sound of rocket www.auracalshc.com
sirens. Like other Israelis, he was devastated. He wanted to Florida Licensed and Insured NR# 30211558, NR# 30211706
do anything he could to help his country.