Eli Beer [b. September 13, 1973] is the President of American Friends of Rescue and Hatzalah. In addition, Eli functions as Chief Coordinator of United Hatzalah, on a volunteer basis. United Hatzalah is Israel's largest all volunteer emergency medical response organization. Eli's experience with other volunteer organizations and MDA provide him with a world of experience. His expertise and experience in dealing with Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI) has put him in the forefront of international arena dealing with this phenomenon. Eli was sought out by the European Union to present a paper at the 2007 Homeland Security Conference[1]. Eli maintains a fond professional relationship with leaders of many other Hatzalah organizations including Hatzolah of New York[2] and Hatzolah of Los Angeles[3].
Eli's "career" in emergency rescue began on June 2, 1978 when, as a youth, he witnessed the bombing of the #12 bus. He was struck by the chaos of the incident and the dearth of local emergency rescue resources. From that moment on Eli nurtured the dream of legions of Hatzalah volunteers responding to the scene moments from the call.
With years of volunteering in Israel's ambulance service (MDA[4]) under his belt, Eli began to breathe life into his dream. For over 20 years various Hatzalah organizations were functioning in Israel. Hatzalah had become a household word in Israel. Images of rescue volunteers racing through smoke, fire and mayhem to save the lives of people stricken by terror attacks, car accidents or medical emergencies became commonplace in the media. Fine-tuning his idea, in 2006, following the Second Lebanon War, Eli helped establish United Hatzalah, dedicated to unifying the level of professionalism, training and efficiency of the disparate Hatzalah organizations.
List of Major Incidents Eli Beer played a key role.
Ben Yehuda Street bombings –
On December 1, 2001 while responding to the first explosion Eli
began to assess the situation when he nearly became a victim of the
secondary explosive device which exploded nearby knocking him to
the ground. The second device specifically targeted first
responders. 11 people were killed and 188 injured in those
attacks[5].
Versailles wedding hall
disaster – Manning the first ambulance on the scene Eli
launched the MCI response plan for the worst civil disaster in
Israel's history.
Second Lebanon War – Eli Beer coordinated
the activities of Hatzalah in Northern Israel with volunteers in
other regions thereby establishing "proof of concept" for a United
Hatzalah.
Operation Cast Lead – Building on the model
established during the Second Lebanon War, United Hatzalah ensured
the safety of its volunteers by providing them with NIJ III
Ballistic Helmets and Body Armor. In addition, local volunteers
were rotated out of the operational theatre for recuperation and
other volunteers were rotated in to provide emergency medical
support for the duration of the conflict.
Eli Beer is married to Gitty and they have five children, four girls and a boy.
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