Former Israeli hostage Bar Kuperstein, who was freed on Oct. 13 after two years of captivity in the Gaza Strip, received the Greenberg Traurig Courage Award at United Hatzalah’s Miami gala on Wednesday night.
Trained by United Hatzalah at age 17, Kuperstein went on to serve as an unofficial volunteer, assisting EMTs before entering the IDF as a medic. He drew on those skills to help save lives at the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, where he was working as a security guard when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
The gala, attended by 1,200 people, raised $120,000 for Kuperstein and his family to help cover medical and living expenses.
“Bar has been part of the United Hatzalah family since he was 17, doing shifts alongside our team to help them. We surprised him with a personalized medic vest with his name and gave him his father’s call code, 5055, so he can continue his family’s legacy of saving lives,” said president and founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer.
“We are incredibly proud to officially welcome Bar Kuperstein to United Hatzalah, turning unimaginable trauma into an uplifting commitment to help save lives of all people in Israel,” he added.
Kuperstein’s father, Tal, was a United Hatzalah volunteer and was injured while responding to a medical emergency involving a child. United Hatzalah volunteers, including Beer, took shifts at the Kuperstein family falafel shop in Bat Yam to help keep the family afloat.
Said Bar Kuperstein: “I became friends with Eli Beer when I taught him how to make falafel helping in my family’s shop after my father was paralyzed. Growing up, I learned from my father and from United Hatzalah how to save lives. I used those skills in the IDF as a medic and later at the Nova festival helping those under attack on October 7. Now I am happy to be officially joining the ranks as a United Hatzalah volunteer.”
Also honored at the gala were former Mossad Director Yossi Cohen and former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who participated in a panel discussion titled “How Spycraft Changed the Middle East,” moderated by journalist and commentator Katie Pavlich. The conversation explored intelligence cooperation, deterrence and the evolving security challenges facing Israel and the democratic world.
Following the discussion, Cohen and Pompeo were presented with United Hatzalah’s Protectors of Israel Award.
Proceeds from the evening will support United Hatzalah’s efforts to train volunteers to join its network of more than 8,000 volunteer healthcare professionals, as well as to expand its fleet of emergency vehicles and medical equipment. Each year, United Hatzalah responds to more than 800,000 emergencies across Israel.
