Israeli-American philanthropist Miriam Adelson spurred the creation of United Hatzalah’s Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Ambucycle Unit, donating 150 vehicles to the new squad.
Emceed by Channel 12’s Ofer Hadad, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion was also present at the event on Tuesday in Jerusalem’s Safra Square.
Married to American business magnate Sheldon Adelson, who passed away in January, she has had an illustrious career as a physician in Israel and the US.
Adelson’s own connection to United Hatzalah began when she helped save the life of its president and founder, Eli Beer, who was deathly ill at the start of 2020 in Miami with COVID-19.
The event’s organizers arranged the 150 ambucycles in the form of a menorah all across Safra Square. Each United Hatzalah volunteer personally thanked Adelson for her generosity before venturing off in the convoy across the Old City.
While the ambucycles will be used across the country, a specific focus will be made toward the Negev, Galilee, Judea and Samaria. “This will significantly increase the effectiveness of emergency medical response in Israel,” Beer said.
United Hatzalah is a volunteer emergency medical service based out of Jerusalem. Its primary goal is to provide medical assistance between the start of an emergency and before a traditional ambulance arrives.
The Adelsons’ philanthropic history with Israel goes back decades. Owners of Israel Hayom, the Adelsons became distinguished citizens of Jerusalem in 2013 and received honorary doctorates from Tel Aviv University in the mid-2000s. Born in Tel Aviv in 1945, Miriam Adelson also received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018 from president Donald Trump for her medical and philanthropic work.
The two have also extensively financed Taglit-Birthright and Yad Vashem.
In 1993, the couple established the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse Treatment and Research in Tel Aviv, which aims to study HIV and its treatment possibilities. In 2013, they created the Adelson School of Entrepreneurship at IDC Herzliya.
Reflecting on the ambucycles, Adelson said: “When they told us that saving a life was akin to saving the world, our sages in fact commanded us to do whatever we can to save a person in danger as if the entire world were in danger. We are commanded to act quickly – it is our responsibility to do so. This is my blessing and gift to you.
“They will be used for the greatest good and the ultimate mitzvah of saving lives,” she said.
Beer said the event was held “to honor some of the greatest supporters and defenders of Israel: Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson.”