Adding Light

When a person’s heart stops beating, every second is critical.

This is what happened to Eliezer Rubin, a 21-year-old from Jerusalem. Eliezer called MDA’s 101 emergency hotline after feeling unwell. On the other end of the line was Romi Moses, an MDA emergency medical responder at the emergency call center. As Romi dispatched teams and guided Eliezer, he suddenly suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed. His family members continued speaking with Romi. While MDA teams and volunteer first responders were on their way, Romi, with sensitivity, determination, and professionalism, instructed Eliezer’s family on how to perform CPR.

MDA volunteer EMT David Rotenberg, who was nearby and arrived first at the scene, realized that the patient was a fellow student from his yeshiva. He continued the resuscitation efforts, delivering electrical shocks using a defibrillator. Thankfully, Eliezer’s heart began beating again.

David was soon joined by MDA ambulance crews: EMTs Rafael and Orel Toledano, and a mobile intensive care unit led by paramedics Elad Shamir and Emmanuel Stern, who continued providing advanced medical care.

Eliezer regained full consciousness and was evacuated to the hospital while communicating with the team. After several days, he was discharged from the hospital in good health and functioning normally.

Some time later, Eliezer chose to visit the MDA Jerusalem station to meet the MDA personnel who had saved his life.

Eliezer Rubin said, “I came home at night not feeling well. At first, I didn’t think it was something that required immediate treatment, but very quickly my condition worsened and I felt like I was about to faint. I gathered what little strength I had, moved furniture to make noise and wake my family. Meanwhile, I called MDA’s 101 hotline and was instructed to lie down and raise my legs. I lost consciousness, and from there I don’t remember what happened. The next thing I remember is being taken in a mobile intensive care unit. Today, thank God, I have returned to completely normal daily life with no lasting effects, and I understand that if I had waited a little longer and not called 101, I might not be here today. It is very moving for me to meet you and thank you—this is simply a miracle. You were the messengers who saved my life.”

David Rotenberg, MDA volunteer EMT replied, “When I arrived at the apartment, I saw you lying on the floor and immediately realized I knew you from the yeshiva. I was stunned. I began resuscitation and, with the help of the defibrillator, delivered electrical shocks, and very quickly your heart started beating again. The rest of the team arrived, and slowly you regained consciousness. You looked at me and said, ‘I see a lot of figures and I understand that all of you saved me—thank you.’ That sentence really stayed with me. It’s very emotional, and I am so happy to see you here with us.”

Paramedics Elad Shamir and Emmanuel Stern added, “To see you sitting here in front of us and talking with us—there are no words.”

Another story took place just two weeks ago in the city of Afula. Roi Polkhov, an MDA emergency medical responder, was on an important routine task, conducting periodic inspections of MDA’s public-access defibrillators installed throughout the city.

While checking a device on Arlozorov Boulevard, Roi received an alert on MDA’s dedicated volunteer responder app about a man who had collapsed and lost consciousness on the same street. Roi knew that the app identifies and dispatches the closest responders. With the speed reserved for those who understand that every second means life, he rushed to the scene, performed resuscitation, and used the very defibrillator he had just inspected to deliver an electric shock, saving the man’s life. The patient was later evacuated by an MDA mobile intensive care unit to the hospital, fully conscious and in the good hands of the medical team for further treatment.

MDA emergency medical responder Roi Polkhov said, “Magen David Adom has placed thousands of defibrillators throughout the country to save the lives of people who suffer cardiac arrest in public spaces. As part of our responsibility for human life, we check the readiness of the stations and devices every quarter. My inspection includes the cabinet, the ability of MDA’s 101 call center to open it remotely, and of course the functionality of the device itself.

"While I was checking the cabinet installed at the entrance to the Aroma café, near Yad Labanim Garden in Afula, I received an update on the MDA app about an incident being reported by civilians happening right next to me. I was on the phone with the MDA call center, and they informed me that I was just a few buildings away from a person who had suffered cardiac arrest. I immediately took the defibrillator and ran to the scene. I saw civilians performing CPR under the guidance of the MDA call center on a 37-year-old man. I connected the defibrillator, which analyzed his heart rhythm and immediately delivered an electric shock. After just a few seconds, the man who had suffered cardiac arrest began breathing again and opened his eyes. The defibrillator undoubtedly saved his life.”

The smart resuscitation stations include a defibrillator and a smart cabinet. The station is remotely controlled and opened by MDA’s 101 call center and activates a siren to make it easier to locate during an emergency. The earlier an electric shock is delivered and heart activity is restored, the higher the patient’s chances of survival.

The station installed in Afula was dedicated to the memory of Master Sergeant (res.) Roi Avraham Maimon, a combat paramedic in the Yahalom Unit and an MDA volunteer in the Gilboa region, who fell in Gaza in January 2024.