Jewish News campaign for life-saving vehicle launched in memory of Rabbi Sacks
We've joined forces with MDA UK to raise £135,000 to honour the former Chief Rabbi who was a 'champion' of the emergency service charity
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
A campaign to donate a life-saving vehicle for Israel in memory of Lord Sacks is launched today by Jewish News and MDA UK.
The initiative seeks to raise £135,000 to purchase the first of a new batch of bloodmobiles which will transport teams to collect some of the 1,100 units each day that keep the country’s blood supply full. Bearing the name of the former chief rabbi, it will eventually find a home at the new British-funded Blood and Logistics Centre, which is due to open next year.
MDA UK described Lord Sacks, who passed away last week aged just 72, as a long-time “champion” of the charity and revealed £18,000 had already been pledged before the campaign was publicly launched. Chief Executive Daniel Burger said: “Eighty percent of Israel’s blood supplies are collected remotely and the current fleet is up to 19 years old and some are close to being beyond economic repair. In addition, as Israel’s population and tourist population grows, MDA needs to increase its blood inventory in line with this growth and therefore these new vehicles play an essential part in this growth.
“The global Magen David Adom family is honoured to be part of this fundraising campaign. Nothing will give us more pride than seeing a bloodmobile on the streets of Israel bearing the name of Rabbi Lord Sacks and saving lives.”
Former prime minister Tony Blair, who has hailed Lord Sacks as “my hero” who enhanced hios knowledge about the place of Israel for Jews, told Jewish News: “This would be a fitting tribute to Rabbi Sacks, a truly exceptional man and humanitarian.”
A spokesperson for Lord Sacks’ family said: “This is a wonderful initiative and one which is hugely meaningful to all the family. Life is precious above all else, and the idea that any funds raised will go towards pikuach nefesh, saving peoples’ lives, is a fitting way of honouring the legacy of Rabbi Sacks z”l.”
On the day he was ennobled in 2009, Rabbi Sacks spoke at the MDA UK dinner. Then dinner chair, Nicholas Springer, said: “He delivered the best appeal speech we ever heard. He is sorely missed by both within and outside our community and the bloodmobile we are dedicating in is memory will be a fitting tribute.”
Former ambassador to the UK Daniel Taub added: “Reflecting community, service, taking responsibility and helping others, this is a wonderful tribute to many of the lessons Rabbi Sacks taught us, in his writings and in his life.”
Rabbi Lionel Rosenfeld of Marble Arch Synagogue, where Lord Sacks was once the minister, described Rabbi Sacks as “our moral compass and spokesman. Donating to MDA for this vehicle in his name is a wonderful way to honour what he held dear – the sanctity of life. As Rabbi Sacks himself wrote: “Grant strength to those who see to the needs of the injured and sick, and open our hearts in prayer and our hands in generosity, so that by our actions we may bring comfort, healing and support.”
The campaign was conceived by Jewish News a decade after we teamed up with Cockfosters Synagogue and legendary fundraiser Norman Rosenbaum to buy an MDA ambulance. By 2017, it had attended 10,733 calls, including almost 8,000 adult emergencies and more than 600 child emergencies. The vehicle and crew also helped more than 100 women to give birth.
- To donate, go to www.mdauk.org/rabbisacks
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
