Across much of the world, volunteerism is in decline. Emergency response systems are increasingly strained as fire departments, search and rescue teams and EMS agencies report ongoing shortages in recruitment and retention. The model of civic participation that once formed the backbone of emergency preparedness is weakening in many places, just as the frequency and complexity of crises continue to rise.
Israel is moving in the opposite direction.
Rather than contracting, Israel’s volunteer emergency ecosystem is expanding, professionalizing and becoming more deeply embedded in national resilience. Over the past decade, ZAKA Search and Rescue has increased its volunteer force by more than 50 percent. Across Israel, other emergency response organizations have seen volunteer participation more than double. At a time when war, terror attacks and public health emergencies might be expected to discourage civic engagement, they have instead strengthened it. More people are stepping forward, not fewer.
Israel is not simply responding to emergencies. It is setting a global standard for how a society builds resilience through its people.
ZAKA Search and Rescue was founded to honor the dead in accordance with Jewish tradition and has grown into a full-scale emergency response network with more than 4,000 trained volunteers operating around the clock. Its mission is rooted in Kavod Hameit, the dignity of the deceased, while also focusing on saving lives and supporting families in their most difficult moments.
This structure reflects a broader principle in Israel’s emergency system. Volunteer responders are not peripheral. They are fully integrated, trained to high operational standards and embedded within the national response framework. They operate alongside professional agencies as partners in a shared mission, not as substitutes or secondary support.
That model is powered by people from every part of Israeli society. ZAKA volunteers include teachers, engineers, medical professionals, divers, psychologists and business owners. They bring professional skills from daily life into emergency response, strengthening operational capability in practical and often unexpected ways. Analytical thinking improves search coordination. Technical expertise enhances rescue operations. Human skills support families in crisis. This diversity produces teams that are not only operationally strong but deeply connected to the communities they serve.
The strength of this system becomes most visible in moments of national crisis.
When large-scale terror attacks or disasters occur, civilian responders in Israel are often among the first on scene. Trained volunteers, community medics and search and rescue teams respond immediately, stabilizing situations and supporting victims before full national resources are fully deployed. Their effectiveness is not the result of improvisation, but of preparation, training and long-term investment in civilian readiness.
Over time, Israel has increasingly recognized that emergency preparedness depends on empowering civilians, not only professionals. Volunteer organizations are equipped with advanced communications systems, protective equipment and structured training programs. Volunteers undergo continuous drills and certification processes to ensure operational readiness. This has created a system in which civilian responders are not symbolic participants but essential components of national emergency infrastructure.
As a result, volunteer participation in emergency services across Israel has grown significantly even as many other countries face decline. Tens of thousands of people now take part in regular training, drills and operational deployments while balancing careers and family life. They do so not because it is convenient, but because they understand that resilience is a shared responsibility.
The Israeli model does not replace professional emergency services. It strengthens them. Professionals and volunteers operate in coordination, each reinforcing the other. In fast-moving crises such as terror attacks, natural disasters and large-scale accidents, this integration allows for immediate local response followed by sustained professional support and recovery.
The lesson from Israel extends beyond logistics or emergency management. It is about culture and trust. Societies are strongest when ordinary people are trusted, trained and empowered to act in extraordinary moments. Volunteerism is not an optional layer of support. It is a core pillar of resilience.
While much of the world continues to grapple with declining civic engagement in emergency services, Israel demonstrates a different trajectory. It shows that when people are given responsibility and the tools to act, they do not step back from crisis. They step forward into it.
Israel is not only responding more effectively to emergencies. It is redefining what resilience looks like when a society believes that saving lives, honoring dignity and supporting one another is a shared obligation.
Because in the end, the strength of an emergency response system is not measured only by its institutions.
It is measured by its people.
Dubi Weissenstern is CEO of ZAKA Search & Rescue.