Whoever Saves A Life Saves An Entire World: United Hatzalah in London

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Last night Blake was honoured to photograph the first Annual Dinner of the British Friends of United Hatzalah – a truly inspiring organisation that saves lives every single day. Hundreds of guests came to the St. Pancras Renaissance, where the evening was hosted by none other than Fauda’s Rona-Lee Shim’on, to be inspired and support a remarkable cause. It was lovely to see so many of our friends and clients in the room.

United Hatzalah is a team of thousands of VOLUNTEERS across Israel, each equipped with life-saving skills, an app, and an Ambucycle. They answer the phone within 3 seconds and arrive at an emergency within 3 minutes or less, to keep people alive before the ambulance can arrive. They save lives EVERY DAY. Last night we witnessed videos of a man playing tennis and suffering cardiac arrest on the court. A Hatzalah volunteer was there within 1 minute and saved his life. A child eating candy in a shop and it blocking his airways, he could have died within a minute and a half, but a volunteer was there sooner.

Jews saving Muslims, Christians saving Druze, Bedouins saving Christians, Muslims saving Jews. Religion doesn’t matter, politics are kept away. Israel certainly faces challenges, but when compassion meets pioneering, technology and ‘Chutzpah’… amazing human stories emerge. In Europe we often hear about the danger and hatred across the Middle East, but rarely about those who are determined to preserve lives, regardless of religion or political beliefs. United Hatzalah shines bright and is truly inspiring; it was an honour to be involved.

The event was produced brilliantly by Muzika, whilst fine cuisine was served all evening by the talented Ben Tenenblat and his excellent team. Here are some of our favourite images from an amazing evening…