Tens of participants at the levaya were treated for
the overcrowding and for dehydration. Bnei Brak residents
prepared water to quench the thirst of the many mourners. All
of the volunteer paramedic organizations in conjunction with
Magen David Adom (MDA) made quick and very effective
preparations to meet the contingencies of the levaya.
The paramedics were at every possible place throughout the
funeral procession of Maran Rosh Hayeshiva, ztvk'l.
Magen David Adom was at the funeral procession of hundreds of
thousands of mourners with an unprecedented number of people,
according to Yeruchom Mandola, MDA's spokesman. Three mobile
first-aid stations were set up in Bnei Brak. As part of the
planning, approximately 20 ambulances, including special
emergency Cardiac Care Units, were stationed in the city, in
order to be prepared for any possible need to administer
first-aid treatment. In addition, dozens of Emergency Medical
Technicians and paramedics were imported to Bnei Brak.
At the same time, all of MDA's stations throughout the
Greater Dan and Coastal districts were placed on high alert
in order to be ready for any possibility. Avi Zohar, general
manager of MDA, oversaw the various squads' operations from
close by.
Various volunteer paramedic groups joined forces manning
stations throughout Bnei Brak. Bnei Brak's local chapter of
Hatzoloh was assisted by volunteers from the Central Region.
Also, hundreds of volunteers from Jerusalem came to assist,
nearly emptying the country's capital of Hatzoloh members.
Many of them brought large quantities of drinking water to
Bnei Brak for the hundreds of thousands of mourners who
participated in the levaya. In several locations, a
lack of water was particularly acute. During the internment
of HaRav Shach, ztvk'l, tens fainted, unable to fathom
the final lowering of the pure body of Maran Rosh Hayeshiva,
ztvk'l into his plot in the Ponevezh Cemetery.
Dozens of people required treatment during the actual funeral
procession. Treatment was given by the dedicated volunteer
members of Hatzoloh, who administered first-aid to mourners
who fainted due to overheating from the dangerously
claustrophobic press of the crowds. MDA reports that its
staff treated about 50 people who were feeling ill during the
levaya. Approximately ten of them were brought to
hospitals for further treatment. All of them are considered
to be in minimal danger.
As noted, many Bnei Brak residents prepared jugs of water for
drinking purposes together with plastic cups for the hundreds
of thousands of levaya participants. Some of the
residents of Bnei Brak and adjacent Ramat Gan also supplied
water for netilas yodayim after the levaya.
