“I am living proof that the Jews don’t control Hollywood,” comedian Elon Gold told a packed shul at the Moise Safra Center in New York City last week. “Don’t you think I would have hosted the Oscars by now and not the Chabad telethon?”
We were gathered to hear jokes Gold could only tell a Jewish audience — “Gas prices are so high even Reform Jews are walking to shul” — and to celebrate Eli Beer, founder and president of United Hatzalah of Israel, and the release of his authorized biography, “90 Seconds: The Epic Story of Eli Beer and United Hatzalah” (ArtScroll).
Written by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer, the book recounts how Beer went from being a helpless 5-year-old boy watching a bus blow up and dreaming of being able to help people, to running the world’s largest and fastest fully volunteer emergency medical service (EMS). More than 5.5 million lives have been saved by Hatzalah since its founding in 2006.
At a time of extreme divisiveness both here and in Israel, it felt almost miraculous to spend an evening focusing on an Israeli phenomenon that is literally life-changing. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has called Beer “one of the greatest social entrepreneurs of our generation.”
Hatzalah’s cadre of 6,500 EMTs, paramedics, and doctors create a network of emergency first responders, providing lifesaving medical aid with an average response time of three minutes or less across Israel. Ninety seconds is the goal —arriving at any medical emergency in Israel in 90 seconds or less. All of Hatzalah’s services are provided 24/7 and are free of charge.
“I really hope that this book is read by many people and that it inspires them to push through whatever challenges they are facing and achieve their dreams, especially children,” Beer said before the book launch. “Children have so many dreams and people are always telling them it can’t happen. People said the same to me. I want everyone to read this book so that they understand that childhood dreams can happen and that anything is possible.”
The book includes the story of life-saving technological innovations such as the “ambucycle” — medically equipped motorcycles capable of navigating around traffic jams. And now Beer is bringing Israel’s gift to the world. Hatzalah has already expanded to Nepal, Ukraine, and Turkey. Volunteers get upset if they’re not called, Beer told the Safra audience.
Beer recounted the evening of the terrorist attack outside of a Jerusalem synagogue in January, which left seven dead. He was sitting with his family for a Shabbat dinner when they received the emergency call. All eight of them — his wife, histhree daughters and their husbands — raced to the scene of attack.
At 49, Beer has bequeathed the gift of living a life of meaning and purpose to his family and the thousands of diverse volunteers eager to save lives.
Gold provided the laughter that Jews have historically relied on to get through the toughest times. “These past few years have been hard. Is it me or doesn’t it feel like everyone was either asymptomatic or antisemitic?” he quipped.
Known for his impeccable impersonations, Gold transformed himself into former President Donald Trump for the biggest laughs of the evening. Indeed, not much was off limits for Gold. “Fifteen years at Yeshiva and I don’t speak Hebrew… I don’t know the Hebrew words for wool or linen, but I know you’re not allowed to mix them.”
The upcoming holiday received a special shout-out. “Many of us go to Mexico for Pesach. Because what better way to recreate our exodus from Egypt than a spa in Cancun?”
Karen Lehrman Bloch is editor in chief of White Rose Magazine.
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