United Hatzalah founder and president Eli Beer met with Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz at the Kirya, the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, for a discussion focused on strengthening cooperation between United Hatzalah and Israel’s defense and emergency systems.
The discussions focused on further developing cooperation and coordination between United Hatzalah and Israel’s national defense and emergency systems, particularly during periods of war, large-scale emergencies and national disasters, when rapid medical response and close coordination between emergency agencies can be critical.
“When it comes to saving lives, cooperation makes us stronger and helps us reach more people, faster,” Beer said. “United Hatzalah’s volunteers are on the ground in communities across Israel every day and when the country faces a national emergency, that network becomes an important part of Israel’s ability to respond quickly. We want to continue strengthening the way we work together with Israel’s defense and emergency systems so that we are as prepared as possible for whatever may come.”
Katz also reflected during the meeting on his more than 20-year relationship with United Hatzalah and his longstanding familiarity with the organization and its volunteers. He paid particular attention to United Hatzalah’s response on Oct. 7 and throughout the last three years of unrest and the state of emergency across the country.
“Oct. 7 demonstrated the courage and commitment of our volunteers, many of whom left their own families and communities and rushed directly toward the areas where they were needed most,” Beer said. “That same spirit has continued throughout the war and is present every single day when our volunteers respond to medical emergencies across Israel.”
“Our responsibility is to constantly ask how we can be better prepared, how we can work together more effectively and ultimately how we can save more lives,” Beer said. “Today’s meeting was an important part of that continuing effort.”
