MAGEN DAVID ADOM ("RED SHIELD OF DAVID"):  The Red Cross Service of the State of Israel

 

This is the Magen David Adom Blood Fractionation Center on the campus of Tel Hashomer Hospital near Ramat Gan, Israel.  It is a modern, state-of-the-art facility for preparing donated blood for transfusion to patients.  Much of the funding for the creation of this center came from donors to the American Friends of Magen David Adom (formerly American Red Magen David for Israel) in the United States.   American Friends of Magen David Adom is one of Barry Friedman's favorite organizations.

Above, you can see the inside of an ambulance, with General Positioning System technology.

 

Noam Yifrach, center, head of Israel's partner organization, Magen David Adom, runs with a banner carrying the new "red crystal" emblem early Thursday morning Dec. 8, 2005, in Geneva, Switzerland.  (AP photo and caption.)

MAGEN DAVID ADOM ADMITTED INTO INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETY

 After 57 years of waiting, Israeli and Palestinian Emergency Services are admitted into the International Red Cross

New York, June 22, 2006 -- In a historic moment, American Friends of Magen David Adom (www.afmda.org) are proud to announce the admittance of Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s first-aid and disaster relief organization, into the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. The decision , which took place in Geneva, Switzerland at the 29th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent voted to accept both the Palestinian Red Crescent and Magen David Adom. Both organizations are now full voting members, and received crucial funding to assist in their life-saving work.

“This is a historic moment for Magen David Adom and for Israel, as well as for the Palestinian people,” said Executive VP Daniel Allen. “We hope that this acceptance will lead to a new era in Middle East humanitarian cooperation. It is a triumph for those who put human life over sectarian politics. ”

The MDA has been working side by side with the International Red Cross for years, responding with state-of-the-art technology, expertise and emergency services to global disasters like that of Katrina last year on the US Gulf Coast and Tsunami relief in Southeast Asia. MDA responds to 600,000 calls a year throughout the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Magen David Adom is committed to its continuing work with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to save lives in both Israel and in the Palestinian Territory.

“While nothing has changed for MDA on the ground, we are satisfied that this long overdue recognition will make our job easier and allow us to fulfill the Jewish mitzvah of saving lives around the world, by opening doors to us that have been closed for so long,” says Allen.

Israel’s MDA experts have trained numerous members of the International Red Cross as well as the Palestinian Red Crescent in everything from essential first-aid to complex trauma treatment. Even while holding observer status, Israel has been able and willing to participate in vital international relief missions coordinated by the International Red Cross to countries such as India, Turkey, and the United States. This along with the close relationship between American Friends of Magen David Adom and the American Red Cross will remain unchanged.

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Thanks to Dr. Bernadine P. Healy, who, as president of the American Red Cross in 2000, initiated the ARC's policy of withholding donations from the international federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent until Magen David Adom would be admitted to membership in the organization.  Dr. Healy willingly risked her position in the ARC for the sake of this principle; in fact, her ouster in 2001 is partly attributed to her courageous stand on the MDA issue.  I doubt whether MDA would have been admitted in 2006 if Dr. Healy hadn't put the ARC on record so strongly against MDA's continued exclusion.  Dr. Healy is a health editor for U. S. News & World Report, and I pray that she herself will enjoy health and happiness for many years to come. -- BDF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal disclaimer:  This page is not a publication of North Georgia College & State University and NGCSU has not edited or examined the content of the page.  The author of the page is solely responsible for the content.

Last updated on June 23, 2006, by Barry D. Friedman.