- ZAKA
ZAKA ( _he. זק"א, an abbreviation for "Zihuy Korbanot Ason", literally: "Disaster Victim Identification"), is a series of voluntary
community emergency response teams inIsrael , each operating in a police district (two in the Central District due to geographic considerations). These organizations are officially recognized by the government. The full name is ZAKA - Identification and Rescue - True Kindness (Hebrew: זק"א - איתור חילוץ והצלה - חסד של אמת).The network was set up in the early 1990s. The Jerusalem ZAKA organization was founded in the 1990s by
Yehuda Meshi Zahav andRabbi Moshe Aizenbach as a non-profit organization in addition to its police status. This arrangement succeeded the ZAKA organization founded byRabbi Elazar Gelbstein in 1989.Members of ZAKA, most of whom are Orthodox Jews, assist
ambulance crews, aid in the identification of the victims ofterrorism , road accidents and other disasters, and where necessary gather body parts and spilledblood for properburial . They also providefirst aid andrescue services, and help with the search for missing persons. ZAKA was involved in helping forensic teams inThailand ,Sri Lanka ,India , andIndonesia in the aftermath of the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake , where they were nicknamed "the team that sleeps with the dead" because of their willingness to work around the clock. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Asia-Tsunami/Israelis-bring-skills-at-identifying-bodies/2005/01/07/1104832310176.html]The founders and members of ZAKA prefer to call the organization and their work "Chesed shel Emet" (חסד של אמת - "true kindness"), because they are dedicated to arranging the bodies of slain
Jew s to be buried according toHalakha , Jewish law. After acts of terrorism, ZAKA volunteers also collect the bodies and body parts of non-Jews, including suicide bombers, for return to their families. The phrase "Chesed shel Emet" refers to doing "kindness" for the benefit of the deceased, which is considered to be "true kindness", because no reward is expected.Early history
The organization preceding ZAKA started when a group of volunteers under the leadership of Rabbi Elazar Gelbstein gathered to assist in the recovery of human remains from a terrorist attack on a "Line 405" bus in Israel in
1989 . In1995 the newly organized ZAKA were officially recognized by the Israeli government and now work closely with the IsraelPolice in the identification of disaster victims.ZAKA activity expanded rapidly during the
al-Aqsa Intifada (from September 2000), when frequent terroristsuicide bombing s created many scenes of disaster, with the remains and body parts of many victims strewn around bombing sites.Growing public recognition
The devotion of the members of ZAKA and the professional manner in which they handled difficult and tragic scenes, such as the treatment of the bodies of victims killed in
suicide bombing s, led to strong public respect and admiration. The great contribution of ZAKA toIsrael i society was soon widely recognized.This recognition enabled ZAKA to recruit more volunteers, and with growing monetary donations, purchase advanced equipment, such as first aid kits, ambulances, MIRS and motorcycles (for rapid response).
The increase in reputation, donations and manpower enabled ZAKA to participate in additional voluntary activities beyond disaster victim identification and supplying first aid. Such other activities include helping senior citizens and education initiatives to prevent
road accident s.One of the founders of ZAKA, Yehuda Meshi Zahav, was given the honor of lighting an honorary
beacon on Israel's 55thIndependence Day official ceremonies onMount Herzl inJerusalem , the revered burial spot of modernZionism 's founderTheodor Herzl .Recent history
In 2004, a group of ZAKA volunteers flew to
The Hague ,Netherlands , with the wreckage of abus destroyed onJanuary 29 ,2004 in a suicide bombing inJerusalem . The wreckage, along with pictures of 950 victims ofPalestinian terrorism , was taken toWashington DC to urge theUnited States to act against Palestinian terrorism. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040506/ids_photos_ts/r2007434042.jpg]In late 2004 and early 2005, members of ZAKA provided assistance in
Thailand ,Sri Lanka ,India andIndonesia in the aftermath of the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake . Forensic teams reportedly dubbed the group "the team that sleeps with the dead" because they toiled nearly 24 hours a day at Buddhist pagodas in Thailand that had been transformed into morgues to identify those who died in the tsunami. The experience of ZAKA members, who reportedly see 38 bodies a week on average in Israel, helped the Israeli forensic team to identify corpses faster than many of the 20 or so other forensic teams that operated in Thailand in the aftermath of the disaster, which placed them in high demand with grieving families. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Asia-Tsunami/Israelis-bring-skills-at-identifying-bodies/2005/01/07/1104832310176.html]In February 2007, ZAKA sent a 10-person rescue team, consisting primarily of rescue divers, to Paris to search for a missing Israeli Defense official. The mission is being funded by the Defense Ministry at an expected cost of $80,000. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/827237.html]
See also
*
Bereavement in Judaism
*Burial
*Chevra kadisha
*Forensic
*Israeli Security Forces
*Magen David Adom
*Hatzolah External links
* [http://www.zaka.org.il/index_e.php ZAKA Official Website] English version
* [http://zakausa.org/zaka_contact.cfm Contact Zaka]
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Orgs/zaka.html ZAKA] at theJewish Virtual Library
* [http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/israeldiary/ZAKA_Always_There_When_Terror_Strikes.asp ZAKA: Always there when terror strikes]
* [http://www.torah.org/features/firstperson/zaka.html ZAKA: Kindness Amid Terror - An Interview with a volunteer]
* [http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/01/06/tsunami_forensics_team_evokes_bible_images/ Tsunami forensics team evokes Bible images] , By Miranda Leitsinger,Associated Press Writer (reprint at boston.com)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.