Haredi organization in Israel disproves the stereotypes

Yaakov Katz writes in the Jerusalem Post that his car died as he was driving with his wife from Tel Aviv  to Jerusalem on Tuesday night. His insurance company said it would take five hours to send a tow truck. 

His wife suggested they call Yedidim, a haredi volunteer organization for situations like this, and 20 minutes later they had a young religious man arrive to help them.

I have plenty to say – and I often do – about the ultra-Orthodox and their refusal to serve in the IDF. But Yedidim – one of the largest volunteer organizations in Israel founded by haredim – shows another aspect of life in Israel. Nothing is black and white. Worth keeping that in mind.   

The Yedidim ("Friends") organization is on the scene within minutes for non-emergency assistance,  when children or dogs get locked in cars and the key is left inside, when people get stuck in elevators, and when people cannot remove rings from their fingers. During COVID they also assisted with food and medical equipment delivery.  It has over 65,000 volunteers from all walks of life helping anyone who needs assistance 24 hours a day, six days a week. People just have to call 1230.

As they say on their (Hebrew-only) website:

Our vision is to reach a situation where there will be at least one volunteer in every building, so we can reach a situation where no person will be stuck for more than a few minutes anywhere in the country.

This is how we will make the State of Israel a better place.

This is the kind of story that people outside Israel simply don't know about, and it shows a side of Israel - and the much vilified haredi community - that is unreported in the media. 

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