What to do when you wake one morning in such severe pain that you feel as if you’ve been skewered in a magic act that went horribly wrong? When this happened to me a few years ago, all I could do was gasp to my startled husband that I needed to get to hospital. Yet his first instinct was to call Hatzola,a non-profit ambulance service, run by volunteers in the Jewish community but open to anyone in need, regardless of faith. That he did this should tell you all you need to know about the reach and reputation of this incredible service. Within minutes of making the call, two rapid responders were at our door, making initial assessments and preparing to take me to hospital. (It seemed I had a suspected appendicitis.)
This was not an isolated incident. Hatzola – which was the target of an anti-Semitic arson attack last night when four of its ambulances were set alight in North London – has been there for my loved ones on countless occasions. When my elderly mother-in-law suffered a serious fall in her flat; when another relative blacked out and struggled to make sense after coming round; and, thanks to a rogue dining choice, for a young child who thought a miniature rubber Disney figure made for a fine afternoon snack. There are many such stories.
As well as providing outstanding medical care 24 hours a day, Hatzola also fundraises to buy ambulances and equipment. Overall, their work is centred on a central tenet of Judaism, namely the preservation and sanctity of human life, regardless of race, creed or colour. How, then can anyone square such a noble cause, with last night’s egregious act of anti-Semitic hatred?
What the vile attack on Hatzola reveals is that unblinkered hatred of Jewish people is without reason. It is so deep and so venomous that anti-Semites are prepared to make the wider – not just Jewish – community suffer, in order to achieve their goals.
To describe Hatzola only as a lifeline for Jewish people – a trope currently doing the rounds in the sewers of social media – is both inflammatory and inaccurate. It is staffed and financed by the Jewish community, but it is for all. And everyone – including every last poisonous bigot – is entitled to benefit.
In being fleet of foot in coming to the aid of those in need, Hatzola also releases the pressure valve for the NHS and other emergency services. (Including, ironically, the London Fire Brigade). Instead, they work together in an atmosphere of mutual respect to coordinate and provide professional care for medical emergencies.
What’s more, Hatzola is the great anxiety litmus test: there for those who are unsure whether a situation warrants an ambulance. In my local community, ‘let’s call Hatzola and see what they say’, is a well-worn mantra. We trust these composed, compassionate and utterly professional volunteers – all locally based and swift to respond – to give proper first assessment. Their triage helps us avoid misusing precious NHS time.
This was an escalation of Jew-hatred
As Hatzola representative Laurence Blitz said of the Golder’s Green attack: it is ‘shocking for any normal-minded person to attack an organisation whose sole purpose is to save lives’.
All decent-minded people in this country – and I truly believe they are still the majority – must take what happened to Hatzola as a warning. This was an escalation of Jew-hatred, chillingly reminiscent of the Kristallnacht playbook. It was vile, vicious, and utterly indifferent to who is harmed. Thankfully, the Jewish response and the Hatzola way is to clean up and carry on, performing acts of charity that save lives, as even those who carried out last night’s pernicious act would know if they ever needed to make the call.
