Events

February 2009, Buffalo, NY When 2 Jewish Americans and 1 Israeli were killed in the Continental plane crash at Buffalo, NY, a six member ZAKA International Rescue Unit team flew to the scene and assisted local emergency personnel in victim recovery and identification. Positive identification of the victims was made faster and simpler because the team took with them dental records and DNA samples.

November 2008,Mumbai, India. While the terror attacks in Mumbai were still unfolding, ZAKA mobilized a 6 man international response team who flew to Istanbul on a private jet to connect with the first commercial flight out to Mumbai. When permission was granted to enter Chabad House, ZAKA volunteers were among the first to enter. There were no living hostages for the ZAKA paramedics to treat. Instead, they guarded the bodies, prevented autopsies, preserved the honor of the dead in keeping with Jewish law, helped with forensic identification, rescued Torah scrolls and accompanied the victims back to Israel for burial.

August 2008, Gori, Georgia. When Israeli journalist Tzadock Yehezkeli was critically injured by a mortar shell in Gori, Georgia, ZAKA was able to recruit, within just a few hours of the incident, a medical team and emergency medical supplies including blood (with the assistance of Ezra leMarpeh) and find a private chartered plane to fly the reporter back to Israel for professional treatment. This ability to cut through bureaucracy when time is of the essence characterizes ZAKA's international operations and underlines the importance of the organization's UN recognition.

June 2008, Moscow, Russia. A Moscow-based ZAKA volunteer helped ensure a full Jewish burial (in Israel) for a young Israeli mother who was murdered in an apparent mugging attempt. ZAKA's intervention with the authorities helped prevent an autopsy.

January 2008, Windhoek, Namibia. Together with a forensics team from the Israel Police, ZAKA volunteers helped identify the bodies of five Israeli diamond dealer killed in a plane crash in Namibia. After initial identification efforts by the Namibian authorities failed, permission was given for assistance from an official delegation from Israel, even though Namibia has no diplomatic contact with Israel. The Namibian emergency services were pleased to receive rescue and recovery training from the ZAKA team.

September 2007, Phuket, Thailand.  Following the plane crash in Thailand, in which 89 people died, including 8 Israelis, the Thai authorities immediately accepted the ZAKA offer of assistance in dealing with the disaster, based on the high esteem felt for the organization following their post-Tsunami work. Three ZAKA volunteers flew to Thailand to assist in recovery and forensic identification of the victims. Not only did they work with the Israeli victims, but also they assisted in the identification of a French Jewish victim in response to the family's request and with the approval of the French authorities.

February 2007, Rouen, France. At the request of the Israel Defense Ministry, ten ZAKA volunteers from the specialist Divers Unit flew to France to locate and recover the body of missing Israeli diplomat David Dahan.

March 2006, Arica, Chile. After a horrifying bus crash in Chile in which 12 American Jews from Miami, all in their 60s and 70s, were killed, American-based ZAKA volunteers chartered a plane and flew to the crash site to carry out their sacred work. They were also instrumental in avoiding the need for autopsies and in helping the bereaved families deal with the authorities.

December 2005, ZAKA receives UN recognition. On 13 December 2005 and as a result of an initiative by the Israel Foreign Ministry, ZAKA was granted NGO status at the United Nations - recognition that ZAKA is an organization devoted to humanitarian endeavors enshrined in the UN charter. One of only a few Israeli organizations to hold this recognition, ZAKA works internationally in search, rescue and recovery, sharing its experience with others and offering assistance around the world wherever it is needed.

August 2005, Katrina hurricane disaster, New Orleans, USA ZAKA sent a team of volunteers from New York to New Orleans to aid the recovery effort and search for victims in the city’s flooded streets and devastated buildings. At the request of the New Orleans Jewish community and working in coordination with the Chief of Louisiana Police, they helped recover the bodies of victims from a Jewish nursing home and assisted in identification of bodies. ZAKA volunteer Rabbi Isaac Leider also succeeded in rescuing centuries-old Torah scrolls from the submerged Congregation Beth Israel synagogue.

December 2004, tsunami, Thailand. In the tragic aftermath of the tsunami, the Israel Police criminal identification team sent to Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia included several ZAKA volunteers. They were dubbed "the team that sleeps with the dead" because of their round the clock work in the makeshift morgues, trying to identify bodies. Grieving families sought out the experienced ZAKA volunteers in their desperate attempts to find their loved ones, because of the speed and professionalism they brought to the grim task.

October 2004, terror attack, Taba, Egypt. A massive car bomb attack at the Hilton Taba killed 32 people, of whom 12 were Israelis and wounded over 120. After the Egyptian government agreed to allow Israeli emergency personnel to help in the rescue and recovery effort, ZAKA volunteers crossed the border and worked alongside colleagues from Israel and Egypt.

November 2003, Istanbul, Turkey. Car bombs exploded outside the Neve Shalom and Beth Israel synagogues in Istanbul during Shabbat morning services, killing 24 and injuring hundreds more. A team of ZAKA volunteers joined emergency personnel in clearing the bomb sites, searching for body parts in order to ensure a full Jewish burial for the six victims.

February 2003, Columbia Space Shuttle disaste, USA When the Columbia Space Shuttle crashed in open fields in Texas, ZAKA volunteers were brought to the scene at the request of Israel's Foreign Ministry and the Chief Rabbi of NASA to aid in the identification of body parts of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. Their extensive experience in rescue and recovery of body parts was invaluable in the search. Even though Ramon's partial remains were soon positively identified, the volunteers remained at the scene to help the rescue workers identify remains of all the astronauts.

November 2002, Mombasa, Kenya. Three suicide bombers linked to Al-Qaeda blew up the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, killing 16, including 3 Israelis and injuring scores of others. A team of ZAKA volunteers flew to the site of the terror attack, together with other emergency personnel from Israel, to help in the difficult task of recovering body parts among the devastation and wreckage.