MDA israel

Immediately following the fast of Tisha B'Av, a delegation of forty Magen David Adom volunteers and staff from across Israel, led by EMT Ilan Teller, head of the volunteers in Holon Station and Paramedic Racheli Ikar, flew to Poland and toured the country, visiting many sites connected to 1,800 years of Jewish history in the country. 

The group visited synagogues, ghettos, and labor and death camps, learning the history along the way of each of the sites. They heard about the Jewish communities that lived there for hundreds of years, and how much hatred destroyed those communities. There were discussions on the importance of treating others with respect, with kindness and the value of human life. Among the sites visited were the Warsaw Ghetto, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, the town of Lublin that had a thriving Jewish community, and Chelmno. 

Outside the infamous Block 10 in Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Mengele performed some of his most evil medical trials using Jews as his subjects and victims of cruelty, the MDA EMTs and Paramedics reaffirmed their dedication to treating patients better, more professionally, with empathy, to treat their pain, and to ensure the sanctity of life above all else. 

A similar delegation takes place each year, ensuring that the memory of the Holocaust is never forgotten, and stressing the importance of human life to those who meet and treat humanity at some of its most difficult times. MDA staff and volunteers report coming back from their journey across Poland with a newfound dedication to undertaking their duties with utmost respect, dignity and professionalism at all times.