ISRAEL: Ultra-orthodox organisation ZAKA trains Israeli-Arab housewives in first aid

Record ID: 397355

  • Title: ISRAEL: Ultra-orthodox organisation ZAKA trains Israeli-Arab housewives in first aid
  • Date: 23rd February 2012
  • Summary: TAYBEH, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF ZAKA CENTRE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND ARTS VEHICLE BELONGING TO ZAKA CLOSE OF SIGN ON CAR DOOR READING IN HEBREW: ZAKA VARIOUS OF ZAKA FIRST AID TRAINERS IN CLASS ROOM SIGN READING IN ARABIC: ZAKA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FIRST AID TRAINER, SAFWAT AZEM, SAYING: "There is no awareness (on first aid matters)- particularly am
  • Embargoed: 9th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel, Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Health,Politics,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAC31Y2Q19RB58YBT2ONRMLI549
  • Story Text: In an effort to raise awareness of first aid within the home, the orthodox Jewish organsiation ZAKA has organised first aid courses for Palestinian women in the Northern Israeli Arab town of Taybeh.
    According to paramedic and first aid trainer Safwat Azem, medical awareness within the the domestic context is very much lacking amongst Arab women living in Israel.
    "There is no awareness - particularly amongst us (Arabs), unfortunately - there is no awareness," Azem said.
    "This organisation is concerned with raising awareness in first aid because if there is a problem, by the time medics and the ambulance arrive, it may be too late. So each woman should be able to -- until the ambulance arrives -- give first aid to her child," he continued.
    For some women attending, the information and knowledge gained during the course is of great use.
    "I liked the idea because, for me, as a mother, I have children in the house and it's possible for anything to happen in the home and I may not know how to deal with it," said Doa', a mother and kindergarten teacher by profession.
    "So when I come and take a course of this kind, it gives me the ability to help my son - above anything - my son, my husband, my relative and then also as a teacher in kindergarten," she added.
    ZAKA and 20 other Israel NGOs have dedicated this project to promoting diversity in Israeli society, and the programme, which started in December 2011, is due to be extended to 12 other Arab towns across Israel.
    Some 1.6 million Israeli Arabs make up 20 percent of Israel's population. Unlike Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, territory Israel captured in the 1967 war, these Palestinians who live in Israel have Israeli citizenship. However, many complain of discrimination manifested in poorer funding for infrastructure and education.
    ZAKA, established by ultra orthodox Jewish volunteers, is made up of a number of community emergency response teams in Israel. Members assist ambulance staff in a variety of different medical emergency situations. Members of ZAKA also provide search and rescue services.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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