MAGEN DAVID ADOM SAVES 7 YEAR OLD GIRL FROM IRAN ATTACK

LEADERSHIP DINNER HAS AN EYE ON THE FUTURE

On June 18th, MDA UK hosted a Leadership Dinner at The Berkeley Hotel. Alon Fridman, CFO and Assistant Director General of Foreign Affairs for MDA Israel, spoke about lessons learnt post 7/10; MDA UK’s CEO, Daniel Burger, highlighted the importance of our working partnerships; and Chair, Russell Jacobs advised as to how MDA is preparing for the future.

Newly-elected President of the Board of Deputies, Philip Rosenberg addressed the room before Michael Marlowe, father of 7/10 victim Jake Marlowe z”l shared the heart-wrenching testimony of his son’s murder at the Supernova festival.

ADAM JACOBSON JOINS THE BOARD

NATIONWIDE ROADSHOW BRINGS MAGEN DAVID ADOM TO THE UK

Earlier this year, the Magen David Adom UK team completed a nationwide roadshow engaging with Jewish communities across London, Leeds, Sheffield, Jersey and Glasgow. The mission was led by a combination of MDA staff, board members and volunteers, and together they shared details of the work of Magen David Adom in Israel since October 7th with diverse audiences.

In Glasgow, MDA UK CEO Daniel Burger spoke about relations with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the British Red Cross, as well as his meeting in Israel with Béatrice Butsana-Sita, British Red Cross CEO, and Claire Clement, British Red Cross Director of International Law. Poignantly, he shared
heartbreaking stories from the Hostage Family Forum members who visited London in March.

In April, Magen David Adom Israel medics, Ophir Tor and Shunit Dekel, who were on the frontlines on 7/10, held various community speaking engagements including a lunch at Radlett Synagogue and dinner at Mill Hill United Synagogue’s Israel Engagement Hub.

They shared their traumatic accounts of the day, including how they jumped into life-saving action, and stories from the days, weeks and months which followed.

Ophir also spoke at the joint Vigil for the Hostages in Central London, calling on everyone to “not remain silent” in the wake of these tragedies, and expressed MDA’s and Israel’s appreciation for the support they have received from the UK.

In May, to celebrate and mark Yom Haatzmaut, the MDA UK team took our retired Magen David Adom ambulance on a visit to Yavneh Primary, Yavneh Secondary and Clore Shalom schools. The young students learnt about the work of MDA paramedics in Israel.

MDA UK also had the pleasure of hosting Jonathan Conricus, the recently retired IDF Lieutenant Colonel, who served in the IDF for 24 years. Lt. Col Conricus visited the Leeds, Manchester, Essex and London communities, where he shared his insights and honest assessment of the situation in Israel and Gaza. MDA Leeds also launched their community project – to renovate the MDA station in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Towards the end of last year, the London-based Dawn Committee, which was formed over 50 years ago, held a reunion. Dawn was a youth committee for over-16s whose aim was to sponsor Magen David Adom (Dawn was a pre-cursor to Young MDA which is currently active). The past members reminisced about the various fundraising socials they put together to raise money for MDA in Israel.

Thank you to all the MDA UK staff, committees and volunteers who work tirelessly to put together all these initiatives, events and fundraisers – we couldn’t do this without you.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Magen David Adom UK. Since 1949, one year after the creation of the State of Israel, MDA UK has continued to raise funds to support MDA and save the lives of all civilians in Israel.

To celebrate this important occasion, MDA UK will be launching a new project to showcase 75 years of fundraising and activism. This will highlight key milestone moments in Israel and MDA UK’s history, important global and local partnerships, and the immense amount of support gifted by the regional committees, volunteers and dedicated staff in the UK. This will be a 360-degree deep dive into the past, present and future of this life-saving, fundraising organisation.

All of this is made possible through the generosity of the UK Jewish community, for which we are grateful and humbled.

SHOW OF SOLIDARITY WITH MISSION TO ISRAEL

In March 2024, Magen David Adom UK Chief Executive, Daniel Burger, led a group of 35 people from different UK communities on a challenging and thought-provoking Solidarity Mission to Israel.

The group were privileged to meet with the First Lady of Israel, Michal Herzog; Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum; the Deputy British Ambassador to Israel; the CEO and Head of International Law for the British Red Cross and ‘Agent G’, the Director of Psychology for the Mossad who also leads hostage negotiations.

The group visited Sderot, Rahat, Ashdod and Jerusalem MDA stations, witnessing the lifesaving teams at work. They saw up close what MDA dealt with on 7/10, hearing the stories of MDA lifesavers who came under fire.

The group heard from MDA dispatcher, Ronit Glaser, who told her emotionally charged personal story of 7/10. She shared that MDA medic, Amit Mann z”l was bravely treating wounded civilians inside a clinic at Kibbutz Be’eri while it was under attack from Hamas terrorists. Amit kept calling, asking when MDA reinforcements would arrive. Ronit said that she didn’t know, and Amit responded: “I understand. Thank you.” Tragically, Amit was later murdered by the terrorists.

On paying tribute to the memory of the fallen MDA personnel who lost their lives whilst trying to save others, Daniel commented, “The acts of depravity, loss of life and destruction simply defy belief. It was so important that we came here together to see the work that MDA has done to save more lives.”