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On Israel's Front Lines Of Saving Lives
T
he day Magen David Adom
responded to stabbings of Israelis
in Afula, Kiryat Arba, Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem during the latest Palestinian
rage of violence, MDA supporters gathered
in Farmington Hills on behalf of Israel's
national emergency medical, disaster relief,
ambulance and blood service agency.
About 550 supporters of American
Friends of MDA (AFMDA) attended
the Michigan-based Dr. John J. Mames
Chapter's Oct. 8 gala at Adat Shalom
Synagogue. They demonstrated how
important MDA is not only to those who
are treated inside Israel, but also to those
supporting it from the diaspora. This year,
Detroiters have donated seven ambulances
and two medicycles plus advanced GPS
systems and in-ambulance cameras.
Gala keynoter Charles Krauthammer, the
Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist
for the Washington Post, called ambulance
giving "a kind of philan-
thropic genius:'
"It's something you can
see and feel; you know
what it does:' he said.
"Everybody can under-
stand what it does. There
is nothing abstract about
it. There is no overhead.
Charles
You are doing something
Krauthammer
so real to the lives of
Israelis:'
Cord Blood Bank.
Domestically, MDA boasts 14,000
In 1986, Bill Davidson and
first responders (including 12,000
Paul Zuckerman led a local effort
volunteers) and 1,050 ambulances,
that raised $8 million toward
the $30 million cost of opening
and fields almost 5 million calls a
year. It furnishes 97 percent of the
the MDA National Blood Center
civilian blood supply and the entire
in Ramat Gan, outside Tel Aviv.
military inventory.
Detroiter Joseph Handleman
The Israeli government man-
Rober t Sklar
headed the national campaign.
dated MDA in 1950, yet MDA isn't
Contri buting
The center was built a year
government funded. Service fees
Editor
later above ground, with a small
and donations fund a $200 mil-
below-grade bomb shelter; earth-
lion annual operating budget and ensure
quakes always have posed a threat and ter-
paramedics and other responders are well
rorist attacks have come to do so. Imagine
trained and fully equipped.
the havoc on Israel's blood supply from
a long-range missile fired by Hezbollah,
MDA humanitarian efforts extend
Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
worldwide — for example, to Indonesia,
Haiti, Nepal and even Boston, where,
ISRAEL'S LIFEBLOOD
nine months before the Boston Marathon
bombings, MDA taught how to handle
Within four years, MDA hopes to
mass-casualty situations.
dedicate a new blood center to be built
underground in Ramla, near Ben Gurion
THE MAMES FACTOR
International Airport.
Israel is home to 8.1 million people.
Since its founding amid the Six-Day War
in 1967 to support Israel and save Israeli
Blood needs are near 400,000
lives, the Mames Chapter, inspired by the
units, more than twice what was
memory of beloved founders Eva and John
needed when the MDA National
Mames, has donated 300 ambulances to
Blood Center opened. A projected
population of 10 million by 2030
MDA as well as $38 million in additional
support — from blood processing equip-
would necessitate more than a
ment and defibrillators to paramedic schol- half-million units of blood.
arships and emergency aid stations, and
Donors worldwide fund 30 per-
more. The chapter also supports the MDA
cent of the MDA budget as well
as capital expansions, renovations, equip-
ment purchases, medical supplies and new
ambulances, which range from $100,000 to
$150,000. At least 100 new ambulances are
needed to replace older units and enlarge
the fleet.
With a gift of $1.5 million for a nucleic
acid testing lab, the Marvin and Betty
Danto Family Foundation becomes the first
Founders Circle member from Michigan
in the campaign to build a secure under-
ground blood center.
Israel's 50-day war with Hamas last sum-
mer underscored why a cramped, below-
grade shelter never meant for extended
use is inadequate during prolonged rocket
attacks. Expanded new underground quar-
ters would enable the center to operate
unencumbered all day, every day.
MDA gifts of all sizes matter. For
example, $1,000 provides a medical bag
and $100 processes a unit of blood. Three
medicycles are available for sponsorship
at $36,000 each. Direct giving queries to
Cari Immerman, AFMDA Midwest
regional director: (877) 405-3913.
At the Oct. 8 gala, Michigan
Gov. Rick Snyder described Detroit
Jewry's special relationship with
American Friends of MDA as a
shining example of "people helping
people who help people:'
And he was spot on. *
guest column
We're An Active Interfaith Community
M
etro Detroit is one of the most
synagogue, a church, a Hindu temple and a
diverse cities in the U.S. and, to
Sikh Gurdwara as well as to the Holocaust
some degree, the most segregat-
Memorial Center or the Detroit Institute
ed. But we are a region with vibrantly active
of Arts as the summation session for this
and successful interfaith initiatives
religious diversity initiative. The
that also involve our Jewish com-
purpose of this program is to
munity.
promote greater understanding,
Immediately after 9-11, the
awareness and knowledge concern-
ing the many religions prevalent
Interfaith Partners was born.
It evolved into the InterFaith
in the Metro Detroit area and to
Leadership Council (IFLC) of
prepare these students for life in our
Metropolitan Detroit in 2010. The
increasingly diverse society.
goal of these visionary clerical and
The message for these students
Gail Katz
lay leaders is to bring together,
is pointed discussion about the
encourage and nurture interfaith
negative effects of prejudice, ste-
initiatives and support conciliation between
reotyping and bullying of different religious
religious groups and the larger community.
groups. Students have visited Adat Shalom
Synagogue, Temple Beth El and Temple
IFLC has planned educational panels to
address lifecycle events across the faith tradi- Israel over the years to fulfill the Jewish com-
tions and programs that impact youth.
ponent of the Religious Diversity Journeys.
The Religious Diversity Journeys, a pro-
Also impacting our youth is a wonderful
gram that supports the study of world reli-
after-school program titled Face to Faith
gions, impacts seventh-graders from public
for eighth- through 12th-graders. These
middle schools in Oakland, Macomb and
students come together several times a year
Wayne counties. About 400 seventh-graders
at different houses of worship to learn about
each year make site visits to a mosque, a
other faith traditions and interact with one
8 October 22.2015
another about topics such as how different
faith traditions underscore non-violence.
The World Sabbath is an interfaith event
celebrating world peace through prayers,
dance and music from different faith tradi-
tions. It has been ongoing since 2000. It
begins with a Jewish youth blowing the
shofar, a Muslim youth chanting the Muslim
Call to Prayer and a Hindu youth blowing
the conch shell, followed by our children and
young adults giving additional prayers for
world peace from many other religions —
Jain, Buddhist, Baha'i, Zoroastrian, Christian,
Hindu, Native American, Sikh, Quaker and
Unitarian faiths.
Elementary and middle school youth
become Children of Peace and make world
peace banners that are sewn into peace quilts
— a symbol that we are bringing together
our diverse community to champion peace
and the building of respect and understand-
ing. Adat Shalom Synagogue hosted the last
World Sabbath. The next one will be at Fort
Street Presbyterian Church in Detroit at 4
p.m. Sunday, March 6.
Then there is WISDOM (Women's
Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and
Outreach in MetroDetroit), which promotes
Five Women Five Journeys, a panel presenta-
tion made up of five women, each of a differ-
ent faith tradition, to highlight the changing
roles and expectations of women and their
personal religious and interfaith journeys.
I am frequently on this panel representing
the Jewish faith. This panel is available to all
houses of worship, public schools, libraries
and community groups.
So, in the midst of our hostile and combat-
ive world, where religious groups are fighting
against each other, there are many successful
interfaith endeavors in Metro Detroit that
bring people of many faiths, ethnic back-
grounds and cultures together to make our
community a better place to live.
To get involved with these organizations,
visit www.detroitinterfaithcouncil.com ,
wwwinterfaithwisdom.com or contact me at
gailkatz@comcast.net . *
Gail Katz is co-founder of WISDOM and executive
board member of the InterFaith Leadership Council of
Metropolitan Detroit.