The IDF’s Home Front Delegation assisting the rescue efforts in Surfside returned to Israel over the weekend, with some members leaving on Motzei Shabbos and others on Sunday.
A ceremony was held on Motzei Shabbos to thank the members of the delegation for their selfless work, attended by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, Miami police, fire and rescue services and local residents.
Levine Cava presented medals to the members of the delegation and gave the commander of the delegation, Col. Golan Vach, a key to the city as a token of gratitude.
As the members of the delegation, holding the Israeli flag, left the site for the last time, they were applauded by city officials, members of the US rescue teams and local residents. The members of the delegation worked tirelessly in 12-hour shifts in intense heat and pouring rain.
Below are photos of Col. Vach carefully removing Sifrei Kodesh from the rubble of the disaster.
When the delegation first arrived, the IDF’s operational analysis team of the Intelligence Directorate’s “Unit 9900”, which specializes in visual intelligence, built a three-dimensional (3-D) model of the collapsed building which greatly assisted the rescue teams to know exactly where to search for the victims.
After a condo collapsed in Surfside, Florida, an IDF aid delegation came to assist on the ground. This is Operation Helping Hand: pic.twitter.com/9gyYM8CVA0
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 11, 2021
Bittersweet Commemorative Walk
As the last members of the IDF SAR team are ready to depart back to Israel, Hatzalah in coordination with MDFR, MDPD, Mayor Levine Cava, Mayor Burkett, USAR FL-TF1 2 & hundreds of USAR from across the US lined the streets of Surfside to pay tribute pic.twitter.com/4L0MRFaSdS— Baruch Sandhaus (@BaruchSandhaus) July 11, 2021
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
Nothing moving about this brazen chilul shabbos
Saving lives is chillul shabbos?!?!?!?
Nothing moving about this brazen chilul shabbos,some brazen chilul hashem what you wrote!
No hakaras hatov
Sinai chinam at its finest
jka, how and why do you say that it’s chillul shabbos? Let’s look at facts and perspective. Understandably and halachically appropriately, members of Hatzollah, Chaveirim, the IDF, Misaskim, and others were involved in the search for humans buried underneath the rubble on Shabbos. The 17 of Tamuz was the immediate Sunday following the tragic collapse. Those actively involved in the search did NOT fast, in order that they have strength and stamina to potentially find people alive. I’m not sure if you are referring to another piece of news, unaware of the hilchos shabbos ramifications, or just being negative against the IDF. Even the fasting and davening of Yom Kippur would be pushed, in order for searchers to potentially save 1 Jewish life.