Hershel: Canadian Friends of Magen David Adom

Meet Hershel.

A pillar within the Toronto Jewish community.

He is the grandson of Holocaust and Pogrom survivors, and of immigrants who pre-date the war who battled antisemitism in Canada. He is the son of a lawyer and prolific fundraiser and a bookkeeper.  He is a husband, a father, and a brother. He is an expert in politics, both Canadian and Middle Eastern, speaks Hebrew and Arabic, and believes in helping where help is needed. He is a regional director for Canadian Magen David Adom, after having worked in fundraising for the Technion and for different factions of Canadian politics.

“If I get a phone call from another charitable organization that needs help, I will help”.

“In charity if you can’t be happy to see other organizations doing well, you are in it for the wrong reasons”.

The Canadian Jewish community has been experiencing rising antisemitism for several years leading up to October 7. “There’s always been a simmering of antisemitism here. It wasn’t on a large scale. Most people in Canada or those who have come to Canada either don’t know much about the Jewish community, or don’t care much. But what has been happening is that there have been a few groups that don’t like Jews or Israel and have gotten together and have been planting seeds of hatred and have been waiting for a break. On October 7th, they got it. We saw a world-wide organized attack against Israel and the Jewish community as well as the most prolific organized social media operation in history.”

However, despite all of the scare tactics and attacks against the Jewish community, and amid the increased fear, something remarkable happened. “It has had the opposite effect, because we have now seen the largest ever return of Jewish people to Jewish communal events, synagogues, and Jewish & Israel based activism that we have seen since the time of the Holocaust. So, thank you, troublemakers! You have brought the Jewish community back together.”

On October 7th, Hershel went to synagogue. It was Shabbat and the last day of Sukkot. He is observant, so he didn’t check his phone. “Everything seemed fine. And then the head of security walked over and says ‘Hershel, did you see the news?’ He said that Israel was at war. He said that at least 300 were dead, that there were missiles non-stop. My blood drained from my head and pooled at my feet.”

“I didn’t have my phone. I told the security guard that I needed to see what was going on. He turned on a TV so we could see what was happening. I knew that this was going to be really bad; it was like the Yom Kippur War all over again. I turned to my children and told them that we had to go home. I went to the Rabbi to tell him what was happing, knowing what I had to do.”

Hershel jumped into action, which for him meant breaking the Sabbath and the holidays. He packed his computer and went to the office. By the time he arrived he had 200 voice messages waiting for him. Given the time change between Israel and Toronto, the war had been ongoing for about 10 hours. The phone began ringing with calls from Israel.

“I knew who to call. We have some Christian Friends of Magen David Adom. Within two minutes we had raised $300,000. On the first day of the war, I sold six ambulances.” Of course it takes time for ambulances to reach Israel, but Hershel and his donors were able to begin replacing what had been destroyed on October 7th, as even ambulances were targeted by Hamas. 

He returned home to try to celebrate Simchat Torah with his children, to keep some semblance of normalcy during the holiday and not to frighten the kids. He had his phone with him, and the calls didn’t stop coming in, despite the holiday. Calls came in from many of the large Jewish organizations. The Rabbis at some of Toronto’s largest Synagogues asked Hershel to address their congregations. Due to shabbat and sukkot, most congregations only had information via word of mouth, Hershel had critical information straight from the teams in Israel.

“I gave a speech. ‘We don’t need your support, we need your money, and we need it right now.’ People started yelling out numbers at me as if it was an auction, saying they would call after the holiday ended. People were pledging $5000, $10000, $36000, even $100,000. The money was just insane.”

His phone rang from a strange number that he didn’t recognize. That night, still being the holiday, he started receiving strange and cryptic long-distance calls. He had no idea what was happening.  One person from Israel revealed to him that a post was circulating on Facebook with his contact information on it stating that he was recruiting North American doctors willing to volunteer their services in Israel. Hershel took his son home from synagogue and returned to the office to begin creating a database for the doctors.

“All of a sudden, emails started coming in, phone numbers, and texts. Doctors from across the United States and Canada. Jewish doctors and non-Jewish doctors alike. General doctors, surgeons, and specialists. We now have a database of over 1500 registered doctors from the USA, and 300 from Canada, from coast to coast, who are ready to go if they are to be called upon, if, G-d forbid a disaster scenario like October 7th happens again.

Thirteen Canadian doctors were sent to Israel. A donor paid for their flights. They would disembark from the plane and a representative from Magen David Adom would meet them at the airport. They were taken to a station in either Ashkelon or Ashdod. The doctors or volunteers would sleep at the station and would work on the back of an ambulance or in a clinic for 15 or 16 hour days. They would do this for a week at a time. “This was ongoing for the first two and a half months after October 7th.”

Something unique about Magen David Adom in Canada is that they do not operate anywhere over what is considered the Green Line. They don’t provide ambulances or emergency equipment to Judea and Samaria. “We are not allowed to by law, and we also do not work with the Israeli military. We are strictly within what is considered to be ‘Israel proper’ by the Canadian government.” Magen David Adom helps anyone in need of medical assistance, it is not political. “We save lives. That’s all we do.” Magen David Adom will help anyone in need of their assistance, regardless of race or religion. Their team is comprised of people from all walks of Israeli life – Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and everything in between – all working together on one common goal – to save lives.

The need doesn’t end for Magen David Adom. Every day brings another request. “Three families came together to purchase a Bloodmobile for Magen David Adom. They came together and asked what was needed, and it was ordered. It is the world’s largest Bloodmobile. It can take blood from 14 people at once. It has its own shower, bathroom, kitchen, air conditioning and heating systems. It’s monstrous. It’s so big that it cannot travel on side streets – it can only go on highways. It’s unbelievable.” 

“As far as money is concerned, the overwhelming response from Canadian Jews and non-Jews alike has been astronomical. We’ve raised an exorbitant of money. At the same time, there’s not an infinite amount of money, and other local charities saw their fundraising efforts decrease as a result.” The community mobilization and response has been unlike anything that Hershel has seen in his life, especially in his career of fundraising.

In Israel, Magen David Adom only receives 13% of its operating budget from the Israeli government. Organizations created before the establishment of the State of Israel must rely on diaspora dollars for their success. Magen David Adom was founded in 1930 in South Africa as the Jewish Ambulatory Brigades, and therefore relies heavily on donations from communities around the world.

In terms of fundraising, it is easy to sell people on Magen David Adom. “If we don’t get funds, we don’t save lives. That’s it. There’s nothing else to say. That’s what I get up in front of people and tell them.” Magen David Adom is more than ambulatory services. It also serves as a blood bank and blood services, and a breast milk bank for mothers who cannot feed their children. “I like to think I am helpful in times of need but to be able to contribute during the War in such a productive way was really fulfilling especially in those first few weeks.”

Hershel’s work in the days, weeks, and months following October 7th have been nothing short of life saving, literally. 

But what comes next? “I don’t know what’s going to be in the future. I know that (Jewish) Europe is definitely going to have a tough time going forward, and that there will be more Aliyah. I think in Canada there will continue to be Aliyah, but not at the rates we are seeing out of Europe. Although, we require extra security and police presence. I don’t think we’re at that point. We have seen Jewish community mobilization, and we will continue to. The world changed on October 7th for the Jewish people, but I still think that we will have a pretty united community.”

A big problem facing our world now is that we live in a world of soundbites. “People don’t take time to research or to understand or to have a better idea of what’s going on. That’s what we have to fix – and that will cause the world to fix itself. These are problems that can be solved. It will involve a return to civility, and understanding that sometimes, we have to compromise”.

A key influence in Hershel’s career was Peter Kent, the former Member of Parliament for Thornhill, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the Harper Government. A lesson he imparted that shaped Hershel was how he treated people that he fundamentally disagreed with who were in opposing political parties. “We do not agree, but I will respect that man, and I will let him get up in the House of Commons, and I will respect him and let him have his opinion, etc. We will not agree, but after, we’ll go out for a beer.” This is the return to civility that Hershel hopes for as the world seemingly continues to turn off its axis.

We are at a point where we are experiencing extreme polarization – in Canada, in the USA, in Israel, online, everywhere in the world. Politics is no longer about affecting change. “We all need to have a wakeup call and a return to civility. It’s very important. I truly believe that the average person is slowly waking up to this, and once they do, the world will finally be able to move forward.

May it be so, and may the world absorb a small bit of Hershel’s spirit and function like Magen David Adom – where people of all walks of life come together to work, live, and save lives in peace, and people value collaboration over competition.