Over the first weekend of september, a ceremony was held to inaugurate a new MDA (Magen David Adom) station and two new intensive care ambulances in the Kissra-Samea local council. The two ambulances will operate with the support of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), with one ambulance to be used regularly and the other reserved for emergencies
One ambulance was donated by Jane Ruth Ebenstein, and the other by Janis Warren, both from the United States through the American Friends of MDA. Attendees included the head of the Kissra-Samea local council, Yasser Gadbaan, Lt. Col. (res.) Safwan Marich, Director of the Security and Emergency Response Division for IFCJ, MDA operations director Gil Moskowitz, Eli Peretz, director of MDA’s Asher region, Bat Sheva Guaz, deputy director of MDA’s Asher region, Roni Maman, deputy director of the Asher region and regional medical supervisor, Shiran Elbaz, head of the Beit Jann MDA station cluster, MDA station managers from the Asher region, and MDA volunteers and staff at the Kissra-Samea station.
The new MDA mobile intensive care unit (MICU), which will begin serving the residents of the area starting today, operates with the generous support of IFCJ, which assists MDA in many life-saving projects throughout the country. The IFCJ was established in the United States in 1983 by the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein to promote friendship, understanding, and cooperation between Christians and Jews in matters of mutual interest, particularly in support of Zionism and Israel. Rabbi Eckstein served as the foundation’s president until his passing in 2019. His daughter, Yael Eckstein, has been involved with the organization for 14 years and currently serves as its president. The IFCJ has significantly contributed to MDA for the benefit of the health of Israel’s residents.
The new station and MICUs made possible with the help of the Fellowship, are based at the MDA station in the Kissra-Samea local council and will provide medical care to approximately 10,000 residents of the council and the surrounding area.
Yasser Gadbaan, head of the Kissra-Samea council, stated: “Today is a festive day for Kasra-Samia and the surrounding area. I am happy and proud of MDA’s work in the region throughout the year, especially during Operation Iron Swords. On behalf of myself and the residents of Kissra-Samea and the surrounding area, I would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to the MDA leadership for their decision to open a new MDA station in Kissra-Samea and for the IFCJ’s support in funding and operating the two new MICUs. I would also like to thank MDA Director General Eli Bin, Lt. Col. (res.) Safwan Marich of IFCJ, and Eli Peretz, director of MDA’s Asher region, for their determined efforts in bringing this project to fruition, opening an MDA station in our community and ensuring the saving of lives and provision for emergency events that we hope we won’t need. We will continue to prepare and plan for the benefit of the residents and community."
MDA Director General Eli Bin: “The IFCJ has been with us for many years, helping and contributing so that we can continue to ensure medical security for the country’s residents. In addition to the station in Kissra-Samea and the two MICUs we inaugurated here, which are already helping us save lives, we have also inaugurated two more MICUs that will operate in the local council of Shlomi, also with the support of the Fellowship. At a time when the north needs as much reinforcement as possible, the IFCJ is helping us upgrade medical services for its residents, and for that, I thank you. Thanks to the generous donors whose significant contributions will help us continue saving lives."
