Red Shield Winter 2024 - Magen David Adom UK

7231 MDA Red Shield Summer 2024 v6 Page 1 Image 0001 scaled

7398 MDA Red Shield Winter 2024 Web Banner v1 3 1

Welcome to our MDA UK Interactive Red Shield Winter Edition.

A GLIMMER OF LIGHT

It is very hard to be optimistic right now. The war in Israel has been raging for over a year. The hostages have been held captive for 420 days at the time of writing. And yet, as I travel the country meeting our supporters here in the UK and doing the same when visiting our colleagues in Israel, I am filled with hope.

I know how much you value Magen David Adom. You have shown this with your generosity over the past 12 months. This unwavering support is critical to the people of Israel as they look to rebuild and make sense of what must happen next. Our people are so important to us. Yes, they are lifesavers, but they have been through unimaginable trauma. 36 of their colleagues have been killed. The impact of this on their mental health cannot be overlooked. The work you enable us to fund goes far beyond ‘just’ gifting an ambulance or defibrillator. It also looks after the people using them too.

For 75 years, MDA UK has been committed to supporting and promoting the very best of Israel through our work.

This Chanukah, as we look for those glimmers of light, I believe we can find it in the work of MDA, the impact we are having in Israel and the beacon of light we continue to be across the world.

Daniel Burger
Chief Executive
Magen David Adom UK

Back to contents

A YEAR ON THE FRONTLINE

To mark the first anniversary of the October 7th atrocities, Magen David Adom UK led a memorial mission to Israel over 7.10.24.

The group visited sites including Kfar Aza, the Nova Festival and the Tkuma Car Memorial and received first-hand survivor testimonies. The 30 plus participants paid their respects to the 36 Magen David Adom personnel who were amongst those killed whilst trying to save others both on and since 7/10.

The group also took the opportunity to visit various MDA stations and dispatch centres, including the newly built Marcus National Blood Services Centre. In Rahat, the local Mayor shared his gratitude for the donation of a new First Response Vehicle. Multiple life-saving emergency vehicles were also dedicated throughout the trip.

Daniel Burger, Chief Executive of MDA UK said, “This was an immensely difficult trip but going to Israel to show solidarity is so very important.”

Back to contents

NETTA’S STORY. NETTA’S LEGACY

Netta Epstein z”l from Kibbutz Kfar Aza loved life and making home-brew beers. On October 7th 2023, Netta, along with 78 of his neighbours, was murdered in the terror attack on his home. In his last moments he managed to save his beloved fiancée, Irene Shavit, but left a void in her heart and those who loved him.

To remember Netta’s hopes and dreams, his community looked for a way for his legacy to live on and IBA (Israeli Bitter Ale), a blend of triple hops and the all-Israeli ingredients of summer flowers, honey and date syrup, was born. The beer matured in the wooden whisky barrels of award-winning Israeli distillery M&H and then those same casks were used to finish a 4 and a half year-old single malt, bottled as ‘Netta’s Story’. This was brought to life, through the partnership between MDA UK and M&H Distillery.

On 8 October 2024, participants on the Magen David Adom UK’s Memorial Mission visited Kfar Aza – one of the most heavily hit kibbutzim – to present the first bottle of ‘Netta’s Story’ to his mother, Ayelet Epstein. The presentation took place outside Netta’s home where he was killed. Ayelet shared stories of her special son and his heroic acts of saving his beloved fiancée.

Back to contents

RUNNING, CYCLING AND SAVING LIVES

The second half of 2024 has seen no slowdown in the UK community’s support for Magen David Adom.

In July, the Cambridge MDA Committee hosted a musical concert in honour of Brendel Lang, a sorely missed member of the local community and loyal supporter of Magen David Adom. MDA Leeds followed by hosting a whisky tasting, raising funds for the Yorkshire MDA Ambulance Station in Beit Shemesh.

Later in the month Asher Mass, a year 6 student from The Academy in Hampstead, and his father David, took to their bikes and cycled the length of the Northern Line to raise an incredible £6,500. These funds will go towards resources at the recently opened Marcus National Blood Services Centre in Ramla.

September was jam-packed with activity, beginning with Freida Wilenski of MDA Sheffield hosting the annual National Council Conference. The month continued with various sporting enthusiasts putting on their red and white MDA UK branded cycling shirts and taking part in the London to Brighton bike ride. Manchester MDA hosted its 2nd Golf Day at Whitefield Golf Club. It was a very close tournament, and Ascot Insurance took the win.

The sporting challenges continued in October with the Royal Parks Half Marathon and several MDA UK supporters donned their MDA UK running vests to save more lives.

In November, MDA Maidenhead held its Annual Supper Quiz which included a live link-up to Israel to see the medicycle that was crowdfunded at the 2023 edition.

These events, challenges and activities have helped MDA in Israel in numerous ways, so if you would like to get involved in MDA UK challenges in 2025, visit mdauk.org/challenges. Thank you to everyone for their tireless efforts and dedication to this special life-saving organisation.

Challenge Yourself

Back to contents

NEW FACES ON BOARD

Magen David Adom UK is delighted to announce that Dr Edward Ziff OBE DL has joined its Board of Trustees. Dr Ziff brings a wealth of knowledge and experience gained through his extensive career and involvement in charitable and community organisations.

MDA UK is also pleased to announce that Barry Segal has accepted the role as one of the organisation’s Vice Presidents.

Back to contents

TRAINING FOR SAVING

As Israel’s multi-front war continues, the role of Magen David Adom becomes increasingly important. The nature of attacks from numerous terrorist organisations means that it is the civilians as well as armed forces who are on the front line. Not a day passes without Magen David Adom responding to sirens and red alerts. Although the Iron Dome does an incredible job in protecting the people of Israel, it is not infallible. Our teams are always on hand to respond to the effects of rockets whether it be trauma, shrapnel or something altogether more serious.

Magen David Adom continues to be critical to Israel’s life-saving efforts. The medics, paramedics and volunteers, many of whom are just teenagers, selflessly put themselves in harm’s way in order to save others. Indeed, since 7th October itself, Magen David Adom has been purposely and criminally targeted by the terrorists, resulting in 36 killed and many more injured.

At the same time as responding to the situation in hand, Magen David Adom is simultaneously preparing for the future. One of the main ways it is doing this is by expanding training programmes to Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), paramedics and youth volunteers. As a result, the number of volunteers has increased and our speed of response has quickened too. This is not just in Israel’s major towns and cities but also in outlying areas where ambulance and response vehicles have been placed to enable an even faster response.

As the nature of war changes, so does Magen David Adom’s approach to saving lives. Portable bomb shelters are being installed across the country to limit the impact of a missile strike on MDA stations. CPR courses are being provided to civilians to create an additional layer of life-saving resource. In some places, entire communities are being trained as makeshift emergency teams.

Whilst we all hope that the war ends and life can return to normal, in the meantime MDA will not stop its preparedness to save more lives.

To continue supporting MDA UK, click here to Donate life-saving equipment

Back to contents

HONOURING JAKE MARLOWE Z”L

Jake Marlowe z”l, a former JFS pupil and member of BBYO, made aliyah in 2021. He lived in the northern city of Ma’alot, working as a carpenter.

On October 7th, when Hamas invaded the Nova Music Festival and began indiscriminately shooting into the crowd, Jake was working as a security guard, with his close friend, Aviv Eliyahu z”l, the Director of Security at the time. Whilst trying to save and protect the innocent partygoers under fire, both Jake and Aviv were murdered. At the same time, Jake’s best friend Shlomi Ziv was taken into captivity and rescued 246 days later.

On October 8th 2024, the Magen David Adom UK Memorial Mission to Israel visited the Nova Festival site. There they were met by Lisa and Michael Marlowe, Jake’s parents. They dedicated a new ambulance in memory of their beloved son Jake and his friend Aviv.

Whilst standing by his son’s memorial, Michael spoke to the group about the significance of the ambulance dedication. “We find ourselves at a loss of words when it comes to the dedication of this ambulance in the names of Jake and Aviv. We have made incredible friends with MDA UK, special people who have shown nothing but kindness. This ambulance stands as a testament to the goodness and resilience of this great land of ours. We know in times of need it will save lives just as Jake and Aviv would have wanted.”

Back to contents

CELEBRATING 75. REMEMBERING 7.10

On Monday 25th November, Magen David Adom UK hosted its 75th Anniversary Dinner at The Landmark London. With over 400 guests in attendance, the event was a resounding success in no small part thanks to MDA UK’s incredible and generous supporters.

Keynote speaker Ambassador Gilad Erdan, former Israeli Ambassador to the US and UN and the new Global President of Magen David Adom, spoke about his time in New York and how he became the voice for the 7.10 victims and Israel’s right to defend itself at the UN. He told the enthusiastic audience, “MDA is the national emergency service and the backbone of Israel.” He reiterated that, “MDA will always be on the frontlines, acting selflessly and with bravery. And
we will continue to safeguard lives in Israel.”

It was also an honour to be joined by 2024 Israeli Olympic gold medallist, Tom Reuveny, who took us through his rollercoaster journey leading up to and including this year’s Paris Olympics. “I had a great sense of pride in representing the people of Israel. Winning the gold at the Olympics was a victory for everyone and was the best reply to the hate. It was important not only for Israel as a nation but also for the Jewish people around the world.”

Tributes were also paid to the Magen David Adom heroes who responded to the atrocities on 7th October. Guests were honoured to hear the stories of volunteer Liat Smadja, dispatcher Ronit Glaser and paramedic Lior Levi, all of whom told how the devastation of 7th October had impacted their lives.

Daniel Burger, Chief Executive of MDA UK spoke about the significance of MDA UK turning 75 and the plans ahead for its continued success. “It’s an incredible privilege to address so many of our generous donors, many of whom have given ambulances, bloodmobiles, equipment and funds. We couldn’t do what we do without your support.”

He closed by saying, “We are proud to be celebrating 75 years of Magen David Adom UK and 93 years of MDA in Israel. We look forward to the continuous success of this life-saving organisation.”

Guests were entertained throughout the night by DJ Ben Sadeh. Ben had been a DJ at the Nova Festival and his incredible story of survival was featured in the BBC Storyville’s, “We Will Dance Again”. Long after the last plate was cleared, guests danced to Ben’s trademark set.

Following the London event, Manchester MDA held their own event at which Tom Reuveny was once again the star of the evening. Eyal and Sharon Eshel spoke bravely of their heartbreak at the murder of their 19-year-old daughter, Roni, on October 7th and how they are tirelessly campaigning for accountability and the truth. It was a powerful and moving evening and the funds raised will be going directly to the Makor Haim renovation project in Israel, which Manchester MDA is spearheading.

Magen David Adom has been at the forefront of saving lives since 1930 (even before the State of Israel was born) and MDA UK has been a pillar of support to this life-saving organisation for the last 75 years. Together with our remarkable community, we have been privileged to have contributed substantially, enabling MDA in Israel to continue saving more lives, even through these most difficult of times.

Back to contents

REFLECTIONS: ONE YEAR ON
BY REVEREND MARK MADELEY

I vividly remember October 7th – the horrendous news, my feelings of horror and anger at what was happening. One year later I was privileged to visit Israel with MDA UK. At times it was a harrowing trip as we heard testimonies from bereaved families and survivors of October 7th. The heartbreaking feedback from MDA staff reminded us that they deal with situations faced by very few other ambulance services around the world. The gunfire and missiles on the Gaza border, and sheltering from missiles in Tel Aviv, reminded us of the ongoing effects. The destruction I saw at Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the 1,450 damaged vehicles was traumatic. I cried on numerous occasions. I still felt angry. Yet my experience was the tiniest fraction of what Israelis have coped with.

However, what really struck me more was the positive attitude of those we met. They cannot forget, nor should they, but the strong sense of hope, the desire to look to the future, to repair and rebuild, moved me greatly and helped me process my feelings. It is testimony to the spirit of Israel. Dedicating vehicles in memory of those who fell, vehicles that will save lives in the future, reminded me why supporting MDA is right, and hearing bereaved families using their experience for good is incredibly heartwarming. I now feel much more hopeful for Israel’s future.

I left Israel still in tears, but unexpectedly uplifted. I am better equipped to deal with anti-Israel propaganda because I have a clearer understanding. I am more certain Israel will recover but should not forget. And I remain determined to stand with Israel. A year on I now reflect with their attitude. I need to go back soon and continue to support this amazing country and its amazing people.

Reverend Mark Madeley is President of CFMDA and Vice President of MDA UK.

Back to contents

WE WILL DANCE AGAIN

To accompany the release of ‘Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again’, BBC Storyville’s acclaimed and harrowing account of the massacre at the Nova Music Festival, Magen David Adom UK hosted over 1,000 people at screenings across the UK.

In Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester, viewers watched in stunned silence as the stories of that fateful day were played out in front of their eyes. Victims and survivors, who were in attendance, moved viewers to tears as they spoke about the making of the film and their personal experiences.

Yariv Mozer, the film’s director, told the audience, “I have one request for you. Tell people what happened. Show them what happened.”

Daniel Burger, Chief Executive of Magen David Adom UK said, “It was a privilege to spend some time with the Nova survivors and I am in awe of their courage as they continue to tell their story.”

Back to contents

OUR DONORS’ DEDICATIONS

The ongoing war against Israel did not stop MDA UK supporters from dedicating critical life-saving vehicles including MICUs, Medicycles, Ambulances and First Responder Cars.