About ZAKA – Mission, History & Values

About Us

6.7.1989

Beginning buds

On Thursday, the 3rd of Tammuz 5749 (July 6, 1989), near the settlement of Telz-Stone, a terrorist named Abd al-Rahadi Anas, a 25-year-old member of Islamic Jihad, seized control of the steering wheel from an Egged bus driver on route 405 traveling from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and drove it into the abyss. This was the first suicide attack of its kind in the country, in which 16 people lost their lives and 27 were injured. Following the attack on bus route 405, a handful of people of action and kindness rushed from Jerusalem toward the wadi, risking their own lives to save whoever could be saved and to honor those who could only be honored.

6.7.1989

Search, Rescue, and Recovery

This was, in fact, the first buds of what is now known to everyone as "ZAKA - Search, Rescue, and Recovery." The volunteers who had each come on their own initiative began organizing themselves in a systematic manner. Thus was founded the ZAKA organization, which united under its umbrella those same determined individuals who dedicated themselves to this sacred work, with the goal of handling in an orderly and responsible manner the identification of victims of terrorist attacks and disasters, and addressing the humanitarian and religious aspects involved in preserving the dignity of the dead.

Chesed Shel Emes

Within a short time, the organization, which today numbers thousands of volunteers, became an important and assisting arm in the activities of rescue and security forces. The organizational and operational efficiency and professional approach of the ZAKA organization and its volunteers, who have often been called upon for complex missions both in Israel and around the world, as well as their persistence and devotion to the mission, have become legendary.

Everywhere, At Every Hour

As a natural continuation of these missions, ZAKA developed additional and important branches in the field of help and assistance to all parts of the population. Since then, in every "small" tragic incident or in mass casualty events, in routine times as in emergencies, ZAKA volunteers rush to save when it is possible to save and to honor when all that remains is to honor - those whose fate was unfortunate and who were not privileged to come whole to a Jewish burial.

To Save the Living, to Honor the Dead

Many years of activity day and night in incidents not covered by the media, as well as in national disaster events, created resonance in Israeli and international society for this organization that is all kindness. The ZAKA organization was even recognized by the UN as an international organization. It is one of only three organizations in the State of Israel recognized by the UN as an NGO, and as such it has proven its operational capability by dispatching aid missions from Israel to disaster events around the world. The ZAKA organization has demonstrated a rare ability with its unique advantage and capability as a non-institutionalized body to mobilize and deploy thousands of volunteers from the ultra-Orthodox sector, integrating them into volunteer work and contribution for the benefit of all Israeli citizens without distinction of religion, race, or gender, in both routine and emergency situations. Since then, in every "small" tragic incident or in mass casualty events, in routine times as in emergencies, ZAKA volunteers rush to save when it is possible to save and to honor when all that remains is to honor - those whose fate was unfortunate and who were not privileged to come whole to a Jewish burial.