This Friday (July 15), Stephen Wise Temple will welcome a special guest speaker for out Shabbat Evening services: Eli Beer, the founder of United Hatzalah of Israel.
Since 2006, United Hatzalah has provided fast and free emergency medical aid to anyone throughout the state of Israel, regardless of race, creed, or nationality. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Beer and United Hatzalah extended their mission internationally. Through United Hatzalah’s Operation Orange Wings, charter planes full of medical supplies and trained volunteer medics fly from Israel to Moldova, suppling field hospitals at the Ukraine-Moldova border. Those same planes return to Israel full of up to 150 refugees seeking safety, asylum, and—in many cases—medical treatment.
Through United Hatzalah, Stephen Wise Temple and Schools have worked together with Congregation B’nai Jeshurun of New Jersey to raise over $280,000 (and counting) for Operation Orange Wings. Because of the generous outpouring of support from our communities, three Orange Wings flights have helped bring over 230 Ukrainian refugees to Israel, and delivered over 20 tons of food and supplies. The fundraising effort is ongoing, and each dollar donated will be used to fund further planes full of medical supplies, equipment, food, and volunteers.
On Friday, Beer will speak in-depth about our efforts to rescue Ukrainians put in harm’s way by the Russian invasion. Services begin at 6:15 p.m., in person, outdoors in Casden Chapel. Services can be streamed live via WiseLA.org/Online, on our Facebook page, or on our YouTube channel.
COVID-19: While Stephen Wise Temple does not require masks for outdoor services, they are strongly recommended for attendees ages 2 and over by the County of Los Angeles. For more information, visit our COVID-19 response page.
UPDATE: Watch the full speech below.
