On Thursday, July 4, in Jerusalem, U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) visited the headquarters of United Hatzalah, Israel’s national volunteer-based EMS organization.

During his visit, Kustoff met with United Hatzalah leaders and volunteers and heard how Israelis of all walks of life – Jews, Christians, and Muslims, religious and secular –  provide a joint community-based response to medical emergencies across Israel.

The Congressman toured the organization’s Dispatch and Command Center, which manages over 2,000 emergency calls daily and coordinates the activities of 7,000 volunteers across the country. He gained insight into the advanced technologies used by the Center and was shown the organization’s vehicles, which reduce the organization’s average response time to three minutes throughout Israel.

One of the vehicles seen by the Tennessee Representative was an ambulance donated by Bernard and Maria Pargh, Nashville residents and strong supporters of United Hatzalah.

“It was an honor to visit United Hatzalah’s headquarters in Jerusalem to hear firsthand how over 7,000 citizen volunteers unite to save lives across Israel,” said Congressman Kustoff after the visit. “Their stories, not only from October 7th, but every day, are an inspiration and embody the resiliency of the people of Israel.”

Eli Beer, President and Founder of United Hatzalah, expressed his gratitude for the Congressman’s visit. “We are deeply thankful to Congressman Kustoff for taking the time to visit us. It’s a testament to the unbreakable relationship between the United States and the State of Israel. His recognition of our volunteers’ efforts is a tremendous encouragement to our team as we continue our mission to provide rapid and free emergency medical services to those in need.”