Chicago business donates ambucycles to United Hatzalah

CHICAGO – Chicago kosher restaurant, MILT’s BBQ for the Perplexed, has donated three ambucycles to the Israeli emergency response organization United Hatzalah in memory of Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah, who were murdered earlier this summer.

The donated ambucycles were inducted into the United Hatzalah fleet on Tuesday morning, when United Hatzalah volunteers drove the bikes along a symbolic route from the bus stop at which they were abducted in Gush Etzion to the point where the boys’ bodies were uncovered.

The donor spoke of his donation: “We wanted to commemorate Naftali, Gilad and Eyal with a way of saving lives, and be diametrically opposed to the murderous ideology that ended their lives.”

“(This) generosity memorializes the boys and will help save future lives,” said United Hatzalah president and founder Eli Beer. “Their memories will encourage us to act for the sake of others, to save lives and improve public health in Israel.”

“We see this as a perfect memorial,” said Rachel Fraenkel, mother of Naftali. “Three ambulances with two wheels, rushing to save lives, with the energy of youth. I can see Eyal, Gilad, and Naphtali on each of these ambucyles. They would want to do good in the world and save lives.”

With the discovery of the bodies of the boys, the members of the Chicago Jewish community were moved to commemorate the murdered teenagers. 

Moses Seville, deputy mayor of Gush Etzion, who participated in the memorial journey, said that “The lives of three young men were taken from this place. These ambucycles are designed to do good and save lives. When it comes to saving lives, every minute counts and we are full of faith that these ambucycles will fulfill their mission and come quickly to anyone who needs help.”

United Hatzalah is Israel’s first and largest fully-volunteer emergency rapid response service. With a fleet of over 300 ambucycles, United Hatzalah’s 2,300 volunteers respond to nearby emergencies from mobile-alerts and are able to arrive first on site to administer urgent care within minutes from the initial call of distress – bridging the gap between emergency and ambulance arrival. United Hatzalah is a fully non-profit organization that relies solely on the generous gifts of supporters worldwide; all emergency medical treatment is administered by fully trained volunteers that do not charge for their life saving service.