Israeli Security Forces- ZAKA

ZAKA זק"א - איתור חילוץ והצלה - חסד של אמת (an abbreviation for "Identifying Victims of Disaster" (in Hebrew: Zihuy Korbanot Asson)), is a community emergency response team in the State of Israel, officially recognized by the government. The organization was founded in 1989 by Yehuda Meshi Zahav and Rabbi Moshe Aizenbach.

Hessed shel Emet

The founders and members of ZAKA prefer to call the organization and their work Hessed shel Emet ("true kindness"), because they are dedicated to arranging the bodies of slain Jews to be buried according to Halakha (Jewish Torah law). The phrase Hessed shel Emet refers to doing "kindness" for the benefit of the deceased, which is considered to be "true kindness", as no reward is expected.

Functions

Members of ZAKA, most of whom are Orthodox Jews, assist ambulance crews, identify the victims of terrorism, road accidents and other disasters, and where necessary gather body parts and spilled blood for proper burial. They also provide first aid and rescue services, and help with the search for missing persons.

Main roles

* Identifying victims of disasters, accidents and terrorist attacks (with the assistance of forensic experts as necessary).
* Gathering body parts and spilled blood according to the laws of Jewish burial.
* Supplying emergency first aid at disaster scenes.


Secondary roles

* Assisting in the search for missing persons.
* Providing rescue services.
* Education.
* Preventing road accidents.
* Other voluntary activities such as assisting elderly people.
* Assisting medical staff in hospitals.


History


Early history

ZAKA started when a group of volunteers gathered to assist in the recovery of human remains from a terrorist attack on a Line 405 bus in Israel in 1989. In 1995 they were officially recognized by the Israeli government and now work closely with the Israeli police in the identification of disaster victims.

ZAKA activity expanded rapidly during the al-Aqsa Intifada (from September 2000), where almost daily terrorist suicide bombings created many scenes of disaster, with the remains and body parts of many victims strewn around bombing sites.


Growing public recognition

The devotion of the members of ZAKA and the professional manner in which they handled difficult and tragic scenes, such as the treatment of the bodies of victims killed in suicide bombings, led to strong public respect and admiration. The great contribution of ZAKA to Israeli society was soon widely recognized.

This recognition enabled ZAKA to recruit more volunteers, and with growing monetary donations, purchase advanced equipment, such as first aid kits, ambulances, MIRS and motorcycles (for rapid response).

The increase in reputation, donations and manpower enabled ZAKA to participate in additional voluntary activities beyond disaster victim identification and supplying first aid. Such other activities include helping senior citizens and education initiatives to prevent road accidents.

The founder of ZAKA, Yehuda Meshi Zahav, was given the honor of lighting an honorary beacon on Israel's 55th Independence Day official ceremonies on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, the revered burial spot of modern Zionism's founder Theodor Herzl.


Recent history

In 2004, a group of ZAKA volunteers flew to The Hague, Netherlands, with the wreckage of a bus destroyed on January 29th, 2004 in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. The wreckage, along with pictures of 950 victims of Palestinian terrorism, was taken to Washington DC to urge the United States to act against Palestinian terrorism.

In late 2004 and early 2005, members of ZAKA provided forensic services and other assistance in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Other forensic teams reportedly dubbed the group "the team that sleeps with the dead" because they toiled nearly 24 hours a day at Buddhist pagodas in Thailand that had been transformed into morgues to identify those who died in the tsunami. The experience of ZAKA members (who reportedly see 38 bodies a week on average in Israel) helped them identify corpses faster than many of the 20 or so other forensic teams that operated in Thailand in the aftermath of the disaster, which placed them in high demand with grieving families.

At the beginning of July 2005, Beeper Corp., the company that supplies ZAKA with communication to its members, cut off service to ZAKA due to unpaid debts. There is much speculation that ZAKA is in deep financial difficulty due to lack of funds, perhaps brought about by financial irregularities. Many question the need for the head of ZAKA, Yehudah Meshi Zahav, to have a shiny new Jeep with lights and sirens, during a time of quiet and relative peacefulness in Israel, despite ZAKA's inability to pay its suppliers. Additionally, ZAKA head Yehudah Meshi Zahav was interviewed for an Israeli TV show called "Limousine," on which he made lewd remarks in a manner unbefitting the head of a religious organization. This sparked rumors, reported in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, that the Rabbinical Council of ZAKA removed Meshi Zahav from his position. It is unclear if the rumors are true.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZAKA

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