Message from the ZAKA Commander

In normal times, ZAKA volunteers work quietly and modestly. Their work is almost left unknown and their heroic acts are untold. When, thank God, no terror attacks or unusual disasters occur, the sights of the courageous volunteers in their yellow vests, running into the inferno which everyone else is fleeing, do not make the daily news, and no tales of heroism and dedication are told by news reporters.

Nonetheless, despite the relative calm, ZAKA volunteers do not rest even for a day. The general public is unaware that the main part of volunteers' work, their grinding routine, is done every day, with modesty, dignity, courage, and discretion. Unfortunately, car accidents, deaths of lonely or homeless persons, horrific killings and suicides, work accidents, and at-home deaths whose families are helpless, all form the day-to-day work of ZAKA volunteers.

Volunteer Hours. Volunteering and charity work for no compensation take place around the clock, relentlessly, unfazed by stormy weather, at a vicious pace. Volunteers are called to incidents and to disaster sites, dedicating their best effort to offer a person their last dignity, help investigators at the scene, and support the grieving family. A whole world of work hides behind the words ZAKA, from last aid at death, collecting medical equipment for the living, and participating in national missions such as working on the front lines of the COVID pandemic and sending delegations to rescue Jewish graves overseas.

דברים שאין מי שיחליף אותם. אשרי העם שככה לו, אשרי העם שאלו הם מתנדביו.