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28 students of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem completed Thursday (22 March) a course initiated by the ZAKA Rescue and Recovery organization, training them to become Young Commanders in times of emergency in the volunteer organization. In order to ensure that civilians, who will be on the front line of emergencies such as earthquakes, terror attacks and building collapses, are able to offer emergency first response, the ZAKA volunteer organization has just completed the first ever course of its type, in cooperation with the Home Front Command, Magen David Adom, and Israel Fire and Rescue Services.

The final drill, which took place in the school on the fourth anniversary of the deadly terror attack that claimed eight lives, simulated a rocket attack in which the students themselves had to help the casualties as they awaited the arrival of the emergency services.

ZAKA Chairman and Founder Yehuda Meshi-Zahav: “To stand in the same place, four years later, with the young commanders taking control of the situation, is the answer to our enemies. By training civilians to become emergency first responders, we can maximize our ability to save lives.”

Yeshiva director Rabbi David Simchon, who was the only staff member in the building on the night of the terror attack in 2008, noted that the idea behind the course “is to have a group of students who, no matter what happens – be it an earthquake, a terror attack or any other emergency – can take charge.”

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