This holiday season, an Arab Christian from Nazareth is risking his life to save the lives of countless Israelis.
Yasmeen Mazawi is an Israeli in her 20s who works full-time as a business analyst, but also spends her time at Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national emergency services organization that provides life-saving care in emergencies. Outside of work, I work as a volunteer as a paramedic. MDA volunteers entered the devastation on October 7, 2023 to rescue and treat those in need. Mazzawi was among those who worked that day, and among those who served tirelessly over the years during other missile attacks from Israel's enemies.
She is also volunteering this holiday season and has been volunteering with MDA since she was a teenager.
“I grew up in a home that was open to people, culture and religion. Some of our very closest friends were Jewish,” Mazzawi told Crosswalk Headlines. “And for my parents, it was very important for their children to be part of Israeli society, to volunteer and contribute to the community, even if they didn't get anything in return.”
She said MDA's values are “to love others, no matter who they are, regardless of their religion, color, race or gender.”
The MDA has a government-mandated role in responding to emergencies within Israel. It is the country's official representative to the International Society of the Red Cross and relies on donations and volunteers. MDA has approximately 30,000 volunteers.
As others are running away from terrorist attacks, MDA volunteers rush towards them. Often she and her colleagues are forced to evade missiles.
She said she was nearly hit “many times.”
“There have been several times on my way to patients where I have had to stop on the side of the road, get out of the ambulance, lie on the ground, and then go back and go to patients,” she said, referring to terrorist attacks in Israel. he said while doing so. “It was very challenging.”
On the day of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, she was scheduled to fly to Germany for an academic event, she said. However, she canceled her flight because the country was attacked.
“The first thing I did was call the MDA call center to find out where to go,” she said. “That's all I did that day.”
Photo provided by: ©MDA
michael faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His articles have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star, and Knoxville News Sentinel.
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