Life-saving donation

Lido Beach Synagogue dedicates ambulance in Israel

By Yaffi Spodek Issue of May 15, 2009 / 21 Iyar 5769 The Lido Beach Synagogue has donated a brand new ambulance to the city of Jerusalem, through the Magen David Adom organization, marking the second time the shul has done so, after giving an ambulance to the city of Tzfat last year. “The people were quite forthcoming, as they are with all our fundraising projects,” said Rabbi Daniel Mehlman of Lido Beach Synagogue, noting that a MDA ambulance costs between $85,000 and $100,000. “Our members are very dedicated to the causes of the State of Israel, and as soon as they heard that we were collecting, there was an onslaught of people wanting to participate.” The vehicle will be dedicated at a ceremony in Jerusalem on Rosh Chodesh Sivan, May 24, as part of the shul’s organized mission to Israel. The trip, beginning on May 17, was planned to coincide with two significant dates on the Hebrew calendar: Yom Yerushalayim and the 100th birthday of the city of Tel Aviv. The fundraising drive was initiated by the shul’s president, Joseph Younger, and coordinated by Toby Rusgo and Debbie Bachman, Sisterhood co-presidents. “We decided to dedicate the ambulance to Jerusalem because we were told that they needed it because of recent events in Gaza,” Rusgo explained. Ambulances in major metropolitan areas have a relatively short service life; after several years MDA rotates ambulances from cities to suburban areas with lower call volumes. “Since 1940, American individuals and grops, such as the congregation in Lido Beach, have donated most of Israel’s ambulances and other emergency vehicles,” said Daniel Allen, CEO of MDA. “During the Gaza war, 1,180 rockets slammed into Israel, yet only four people were killed, thanks to ambulance crews dispatched from new MDA facilities.” Rusgo and her husband, Fred, are among the two dozen shul members traveling to Israel, together with Rabbi Mehlman. The trip will include several days of touring, beginning in the south, in Eilat. Yom Yerushalayim will be celebrated on Thursday, May 21, with a special davening and convocation, culminating at the Kotel at midnight. Friday will be spent touring Jerusalem. The trip will conclude with the ambulance dedication on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem, accompanied by a celebratory breakfast. “A lot of members of our shul have family in Israel, and children and grandchildren studying there for the year, who will be joining us too,” said Rusgo. “If anyone is in Israel that day and would like to meet us at the Inbal, it would be our pleasure to welcome you,” Rabbi Mehlman added.

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