Alex Schwartz from Canada checks the ambulance equipment.

July 28, 2008 / 25 Tammuz 5768

Minutes after the second horrific bulldozer terrorist attack in downtown Jerusalem, over 130 young adults from the Magen David Adom (MADA) Ambulance Volunteer Program were on the way to their certification ceremony in the same city. "When we heard about the attack, all of us wanted to rush to the scene to help," said Canadian Alex Schwartz. "Even though we had just finished our first responders course a day earlier."

"Most people run from terrorist attacks. MADA volunteers run toward them. They are a special kind of people no matter where they come from," said Israeli instructor Daniel Amzallag, who was one of the first to arrive at the grisly Jerusalem scene, and described it as "absolutely horrible."

The Magen David Adom Ambulance Volunteer Program, a joint program of Magen David Adom and the Jewish Agency for Israel, brings hundreds of Jewish young adults from around the world to volunteer as first responders on ambulances. Participants can choose a track lasting anywhere from 2 months to one year. The first two weeks consist of an intensive first responders course, where participants learn for eight hours a day. Once they are certified, volunteers are placed in MADA stations throughout Israel, with accommodations provided by the Jewish Agency.

Magen David Adom in action in Sderot.

From 47 volunteers in 2000, the program has grown to 600 in 2008. The Ambulance Volunteer Program is also one of the 150 Jewish Agency MASA-affiliated programs that give young people the opportunity, and financial assistance, to participate in long-term programs in Israel.

MADA volunteers and graduates of the program are like one big family, as was seen at the Jerusalem ceremony, as past participants came to be with the new volunteers. They are all inspired by the desire to help, to do something meaningful, and to do it in Israel.

Current and past graduates of the MADA volunteer course.

Jacqui Mautner, 23, from Australia heard about the program from her Jewish Agency emissary. She holds a BA in medical science and an MA in educational programming, and she thought she would give MADA a try. "I was sent to a station in Karmiel in the north, and I was so upset that I wasn't in the center of the country," recalls Jacqui with a laugh. "In the end, I loved it so much I made aliyah and I will be moving to Karmiel in another week." Jacqui is now a MADA instructor and she will continue to volunteer at "her station."

Sharon Messallem.

Montreal resident, Sharon Messallem, 19, is on the program for a short time before she returns to her studies in health sciences at McGill University. "This program is a combination of everything," says Sharon. "Amazing people, great teachers and the chance to help. In the short time I've been here, I've already done CPR on someone."

Israeli instructor Dan Maman from Ashdod, who works with the overseas volunteers, says that it is incredible that these young people are coming to Israel to give so much of themselves. "Israelis really appreciate these volunteers, and in Ashdod they open their homes and their hearts to them. They become part of the MADA family, and we keep in touch after they leave. There is no better way to connect."

During the first bulldozer terrorist attack in Jerusalem in mid-July, MADA volunteers were first on the scene. Alon Mordel told the YNet news agency, "On the one hand you see the most awful side of humanity, how one person can kill so many. But three minutes later you look around and it appears as though an entire nation has come to help and save people. This is a very special nation." He added that the difficult experience only reinforced his sense of belonging to Israel.

Yoni Neydavoud.

Yoni Neydavoud, 20, from Los Angeles, first came to Israel two years ago with the Birthright program. He loved it, and is now back, "not to be a tourist, but to contribute to Israeli society and to make people feel better."

Yoni, who is studying psychology at UCLA and plans to go into business, says that he learned so much from the course: how to recognize symptoms for common diseases how to give CPR, and most fascinating, how to respond to mass casualties. "It always looks so chaotic when something happens, but there is an organized process and very specific procedures for first responders," says Yoni. "I can't wait to begin volunteering."

The Magen David Adom Ambulance Volunteer Program is named for Yochai Porat, coordinator of the Volunteer Program who was killed by a Palestinian sniper on March 3, 2002, while trying to give medical care to a fellow soldier. He was 26 years old at the time of his death. His father, Yaakov Porat, says that Yochai always wanted to be a superman, helping everyone, all the time. "His work for the program was his fulfillment of the Zionist dream," says Yaakov.

This is one of the many programs run by the Jewish Agency enabling youth from around the world to "Experience" Israel.

To find out more about the Jewish Agency Magen David Adom Ambulance Volunteer Program, click here.  To donate to the program, click here.