Unable to travel to Israel, UK supporters unveil new MDA ambulance at home

An Israeli ambulance was dedicated in the UK for the first time in six decades, after the pandemic forced the cancellation of a ceremony in the Jewish state.

Magen David Adom usually receives hundreds of thousands of pounds of lifesaving vehicles at this time of year, but due to coronavirus, it was not possible to dedicate the ambulances in Israel. Instead, they had Israel come to the UK, with the event taking place in St. Albans.

Supporters of Magen David Adom travelled to Sopwell House last weekend to dedicate their ambulance in a coronavirus safe way.

The Green, Sinclair and Reiss families, together with Richard Spector of the ‘Challenge 50’ group – who were raising money to purchase and dedicate an ambulance in memory of their mothers – were all given a tour of the ambulance to see how their contributions will be saving lives.

Speaking at his family’s dedication, David Reiss said: “Our family is delighted to be involved with such a great cause through the Debra Reiss Foundation.  We would have loved to have been able to share in this special occasion with Magen David Adom in Israel. However, under these unique circumstances in which we find ourselves, we enjoyed sharing this memorable occasion and seeing an Israeli Ambulance here in Hertfordshire.”

Daniel Burger, Chief Executive of Magen David Adom UK, added: “Once it became clear that trips to Israel were off the agenda for the foreseeable future, we wanted to do everything we could to ensure our donors could experience a dedication and see first-hand how their contribution will save more lives.”