In the desert, you can be a paramedic, fireman, solider and cop at once

They say it takes the pure silence of the desert to finally hear your soul speak. Just south of the Dead Sea, in the valley that extends from the lowest point on earth to the tourist town of Eilat along Israel’s border with Jordan, the spectacular Arava desert is a go-to destination for tourists, adventurers, and new residents looking to experience the unspoiled tranquility and beauty of the region.

Home to around 8,000 residents, the Central Arava is known for its world-renowned landmarks, including the Timna Valley Park where biblical kings walked, the oasis-like Tzafit River, and Israel’s longest road, the main Arava highway 90.

Yet despite its secluded location, the Arava desert has its fair share of action. 

Until recently, if you had a health, welfare, or security emergency, living in the Central Arava meant being hours away from first responders. Now, thanks to Jewish National Fund-USA’s (JNF-USA) Richard and Nancy Simches Arava Emergency Response Center (ERC), a project aligned with the organization’s Blueprint Negev initiative to revitalize Southern Israel, travelers and residents in this remote region are able to get the essential emergency assistance they need. 

The creation of the ERC would not have been possible without the generosity of Chestnut Hill (MA, USA) based philanthropist Nancy Simches. Her support for the ERC was fueled by her deep connection to the land and people of Israel. Simches also sees her philanthropic investments in Israel as a means to inspire and connect her children and grandchildren to their ancestral soil.

Simches says she has always been fond of visiting Israel. “I travelled to Israel and saw most of the country. But I have not been to the Central Arava,” says Simches. “I have, however, been supporting the region for years. We built kindergartens, a water reservoir, bomb shelters, and provided fire trucks and firefighting equipment. I truly hope my children and grandchildren will visit these sites one day.”

Simches recalls that it was JNF-USA National Campaign Director Sharon Joy who first introduced her to the organization’s Blueprint Negev initiative and the need for the ERC.

As part of Joy’s role supporting JNF-USA’s national campaign, the veteran fundraiser has helped leading philanthropists like Simches identify projects that are truly impactful for the land and people of Israel.

“I used to live in Boston and Nancy became a dear friend of mine,” says Joy. “When I shared the magic and significance of what this center would bring to the Central Arava region, she immediately wanted to help.”

Simches adds, “Sharon told me it would serve as the headquarters for Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israel police, a fire station, and basically a place to save lives in the Central Arava. And I knew it was something I wanted to help fund.”

The ERC serves as a central command station for the Central Arava, housing police and fire personnel, the Arava Rescue Team, and MDA, Israel’s emergency medical services, which all work alongside one another. The Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) Lotar counter-terrorism unit often patrols local events and its members volunteer with the center’s rescue team.

Recently, the IDF began building a security fence in the northern Arava to prevent infiltrators from entering the area. The facility brings together both professionals and volunteers and provides them with the tools, equipment, and knowledge they require to keep Israel’s community’s safe.

Nadav Eylon, CEO of Moshav Hatzeva, served as the security officer for the local council for four years, orchestrating the ERC’s activities. “This is the first center of its kind in the country,” he says. “There is no other facility in Israel that houses the police force, MDA, fire station personnel, and council members under one roof.”

According to Eylon, the center addresses at least one event each week. “People think nothing happens in the Arava, but that’s not the case,” he says. “Because everything in the Arava is so vast and dispersed, you have to monitor every event in an orderly fashion. The uniqueness of the Arava is that in one operation you can serve as a paramedic, firefighter, soldier, and policeman. Each person wears two to four hats, understanding that if they don’t, then no one will. If you don’t serve in the reserves as part of the Lotar unit, there won’t be a Lotar unit; if you don’t volunteer to be a medic, there won’t be a medic.”

“We save lives on a daily basis,” says Uri Lev, Council member and commander of the Arava Rescue Team, who started out as a rescue unit volunteer 23 years ago. The married father of three has been calling the Arava his home since 1995. “We have 80 volunteers in the rescue unit, 40 MDA volunteers, and the firemen have a 24/7 shift that provides a solution mainly for road accidents and fires. There are also 24/7 police services, and in addition to the permanent police officers, we have 50 volunteers who go on night patrols in agricultural areas and on the highway. We call in helicopters, and sometimes military services when needed while the rescue unit provides a solution for travelers in the area.”

Lev continues, “The main thing we strive for is to have 24/7 medical services here because at night I have to wake up a volunteer and ask them whether they are available to drive someone, for example a woman in labor, to the hospital. This creates problems and delays in providing a proper medical response.”

Eylon has been living in the Arava region for the past six years with his wife and three children, having moved from Long Island, NY. “You go from zero to one hundred very quickly,” agrees Eylon. “You can be eating your dinner when you get an emergency phone call and within five minutes you find yourself on the border with a gun or at a neighboring moshav (small town) performing CPR on someone at a bus station.”

As Eylon notes, JNF-USA’s Richard and Nancy Simches Arava Emergency Response Center (ERC) has helped to create a greater sense of community in the arid region. “At the end of the day, we live here,” he says. “That’s the driving force for professionals working here and for the volunteers. Now that we have a center, we finally have a home…where we can orchestrate operations properly and provide the best care to those in need.”