United Hatzalah of Israel honored former Mossad director Yossi Cohen and Mike Pompeo, former U.S. secretary of state and CIA director, held on Dec. 17 in Miami. The evening brought together South Florida’s pro-Israel philanthropic leadership in support of United Hatzalah, Israel’s largest volunteer emergency medical service.
It also featured a deeply moving presentation honoring Bar Kuperstein, a former Israeli hostage who endured two years in Hamas captivity. Kuperstein was awarded the Greenberg Traurig “Courage Award,” recognizing extraordinary resilience and strength in the face of unimaginable adversity.
His father, Tal Kuperstein, was a United Hatzalah volunteer and was injured while responding to a medical emergency involving a child.
And so volunteers, including Eli Beer, founder and president of United Hatzalah, took shifts at the Kuperstein family falafel shop to help keep it afloat. Bar was trained by United Hatzalah at the age of 17 and became an unofficial volunteer, aiding EMTs before entering the Israel Defense Forces as a medic. He used those skills to help save lives at the Nova music festival, where he was working as a security guard on Oct. 7, 2023, before he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
In front of 1,200 people at the gala, Bar announced that he is going to become a United Hatzalah volunteer EMT. To that end, United Hatzalah raised $120,000 for Bar and his family to help with their medical and living expenses.
Beer said, “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. We are incredibly proud to officially welcome him, turning unimaginable trauma into an uplifting commitment to help save the lives of all people in Israel.”
Kuperstein replied that “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 United Hatzalah how to save lives. I used those skills in the IDF as a medic and later at the Nova music festival in southern Israel, helping those under attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Now, I am happy to be officially joining the ranks as a United Hatzalah volunteer.”
A highlight of the gala was the panel discussion between Cohen and Pompeo, considered two influential global intelligence leaders of the past decade. Moderated by journalist and commentator Katie Pavlich, the conversation was titled, “How Spycraft Changed the Middle East.”
It explored intelligence cooperation, deterrence and the evolving security challenges facing Israel and the democratic world. Afterward, Beer presented the two of them with United Hatzalah’s “Protectors of Israel Award.”
The gala was chaired by philanthropists Nily Falic, Barbara Silber and Mark Silber. The Pargh Family received the Leight Legacy Award in recognition of their enduring commitment to United Hatzalah’s lifesaving mission.
The evening’s guests of honor, Barry and Missy Skolnick, received United Hatzalah’s Humanitarian Award for their steadfast, vocal and long-standing support of Israel and Israeli civil society.
The Young Leadership chair for the gala was Emily Austin, with the law firm Greenberg Traurig serving as the event’s corporate sponsor.
Proceeds from the evening will support efforts to train new volunteers to join its network of more than 8,000 volunteer health-care professionals, and expand its fleet of emergency vehicles and medical equipment.
