Former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA director Mike Pompeo, and his wife Susan, visited the national headquarters of United Hatzalah in Jerusalem on Feb. 14 as a part of their solidarity trip to Israel.
Dov Maisel, United Hatzalah’s vice president of operations, greeted the couple and provided them with an overview of the activities of Israel’s largest volunteer EMS organization. They toured the dispatch center, which handles more than 2,200 emergency calls daily and coordinates lifesaving operations nationwide.
Maisel explained the organization’s model of community-based first response using a network of 7,000 volunteers throughout the country and showcased how United Hatzalah uses state-of-the-art technology to reduce response time to a national average of three minutes.
He then spotlighted the heroic acts of numerous United Hatzalah volunteers on Oct. 7, recounting how they entered the danger zone and saved hundreds of lives in the south of the country. Maisel played footage captured that day, highlighting a specific clip of volunteer EMT Rabbi Chaim Sassi, who was shot by a sniper while treating policemen near the Sderot police station. Sassi managed to hide from the line of fire and bandage his own wounds until it was possible for the police to rescue him.
At the end of the visit, Susan Pompeo assisted in packing medical equipment into tactical trauma kits together with Gitty Beer, volunteer paramedic and wife of United Hatzalah founder and president Eli Beer. The kits are distributed to volunteers around the country, enabling them to carry trauma equipment even in situations where a full medical bag would be cumbersome or out of place.
“It was great to be here at United Hatzalah,” said Mike Pompeo. “We know Eli, we know his mission, we know how many lives were saved, and we know it demonstrates the best of the Israeli people. The volunteers that serve do remarkable work, and it’s the power of this great nation of Israel, so we came to be here to say thank you to them for all they did on Oct. 7 but also for what they do each and every day.”
Beer replied that “we were honored to host Secretary Pompeo, a true friend of ours, who visited Israel to convey support and solidarity during the war. He took the time to witness the extraordinary work of our thousands of volunteers during times of routine and emergency. This is a great honor for us, and we are deeply grateful for his strong support for United Hatzalah and the State of Israel.”
