Eli Beer is the founder of United Hatzalah Israel. It’s a fully volunteer Emergency Medical Service that was started in 2006. Traffic in the cities of Israel is heavy and traditional ambulances often can’t get to emergencies in time to help.
As a teenager, Eli organized a network of volunteers who could respond immediately by foot, bike, or motorcycle near an emergency site. These volunteers save lives by stabilizing the person in need until the ambulance can get to the scene. Today, there are more than 6,500 volunteers across the Holy Land.
He tells a story about one of his earliest volunteers, a young Arab man named Mohamed.
Mohammed came to Eli early on and volunteered his services. Eli was hesitant. Hatzalah served in Jerusalem at a time when there was heightened tension between Arabs and Jews.
Mohammed begged Eli to give him the necessary training and to let him respond to calls as needed. Mohammed was brought on and became one of the team’s best emergency responders.
One day there was a call from a devoutly religious Orthodox Jewish family. The wife was in difficult labor and couldn’t make it to the hospital in time. Mohammed arrived and safely delivered the baby boy.
The baby’s father was overjoyed and invited the paramedic to attend the baby’s brit milah celebration the following week.
Mohammed politely declined.
“Are you married?” The father asked.
“Yes, I am,” Mohammed replied.
“I’m going to send flowers to your wife to show our appreciation.”
Again, Mohammed politely declined.
“I know how to repay your kindness with the greatest honor of all – we will name our baby boy after you. Tell me, what is your name?”
Mohammed tells the happy father his name.
Only now realizing the young man is obviously not Jewish and has the name of the Muslim God, he recovers quickly and says,
“To what address can I send those flowers to your wife?”
The unlikely new friends shared a good laugh, and off went Mohammed on his ambucycle to save more lives and deliver more babies of all the faith traditions who live in the Holy Land.