Pictured Above: Israeli ZAKA emergency response volunteers’ participation in a U.S. National Guard drill in Indiana this week. Credit: Courtesy ZAKA.

(JNS.org) Volunteer emergency responders from Israel and Israeli-developed water technology were both part of a multinational U.S. National Guard emergency drill in Indiana this week.

Members of the International Rescue Unit of the Israeli emergency response group ZAKA—including volunteers from Israel, the U.S., Mexico and South Africa—took part in the drill, which simulated a variety of disaster scenarios. 

“This year, the U.S. National Guard drill relates to an extreme earth-quake scenario, including a hotel collapse,” said ZAKA International Rescue Unit Chief Officer Mati Goldstein. 

ZAKA volunteers were invited to the exercise along with IDF Homefront Command soldiers and members of the U.S. Marine Corps Special Forces.

Pictured Above: An Israeli ZAKA emergency response volunteer participates in a U.S. National Guard drill in Indiana this week. Credit: Courtesy ZAKA.

“We are practicing entering the site and working with the professional emergency forces, following the first response and initial handling of the disaster by the local municipality, civilians and emergency forces,” Goldstein said, adding, “This is the first time that ZAKA is practicing its operational capabilities as an international organization and not just as a rescue force from Israel.”

This year’s disaster exercise also involved the participation of Israeli company Water Gen, which has developed cutting-edge machinery capable of extracting water from thin air. During the drill, participants utilized Water Gen’s technology to immediately provide water to rescue workers and the injured at the scene of the disaster. 

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