Most Orthodox Jewish women avoid touching men except direct relatives. They don’t sit next to men on buses or even at weddings. They have separate swimming hours at indoor pools. But for an emergency birth, Orthodox Jewish women will usually turn to the all-male volunteer ambulance corps known as Hatzolah.
NYC Jewish Women Want to Join Hatzalah
Most Orthodox Jewish women avoid touching men except direct relatives. They don’t sit next to men on buses or even at weddings. They have separate swimming hours at indoor pools. But for an emergency birth, Orthodox Jewish women will usually turn to the all-male volunteer ambulance corps known as Hatzolah.
Now a group of women in one of the country’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities is proposing to join up with Hatzolah as emergency medical technicians to respond in cases of labor or gynecological emergencies.
The proposal for a women’s division has stirred up criticism within Orthodox Jewish circles, with one well-known blog editorializing that it amounts to a “new radical feminist agenda.” And when a prominent elected local official, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, spoke about it on his weekly radio show, he was criticized for even bringing the subject up.
Rachel Freier, a Hasidic attorney who is representing the women in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, said there is a need for emergency services that adhere to the community’s customs of modesty, calling for the genders to avoid physical contact unless they are related.
“It has nothing to do with feminism,” Freier said. “It has to do with the dignity of women and their modesty.”
She is careful to avoid framing the proposal as a critique of Hatzolah, whose work she says they respect. Instead, she says it is a matter of reclaiming a “job that has been the role of women for thousands of years” — that of midwife. “We are so proud of Hatzolah,” she said. But, she added, “they can’t understand what a woman feels like when she is in labor.”
The volunteer ambulance corps was founded by Rabbi Herschel Weber in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the 1960s in response to a perceived delay in responding to emergency calls made by Jewish communities. Today Hatzolah, a Hebrew word that translates as “rescue” or “relief,” has dozens of affiliates around the world, each of them operating independently and often in close coordination with the community they serve. Policies, such as whether women can volunteer, are usually set locally by each affiliate.
It is unclear how many Hatzolah affiliates allow women to volunteer. But in Israel, for instance, United Hatzalah, which responds to more than 112,500 calls per year, has volunteers who are both male and female, as well as secular and religious, according to its website.
And the new division being proposed in Brooklyn by the women Freier represents — it would be known as the Ezras Nashim, Hebrew for “women’s section” — would be modeled after a program created more than a year ago in New Square, N.Y., a small, insular Orthodox Jewish community in New York City’s northern suburbs.
But a program for women, with women volunteers, in Borough Park would be far more ambitious in scope and size. Besides being one of the biggest Orthodox Jewish communities in the country, if not the world, the neighborhood had the city’s highest birth rate in 2009 with 26.7 per 1,000 people, according to the Department of Health. That is a lot of babies that need to be delivered.
Yocheved Lerner, 49, is one of the women who would like to work as a volunteer for a newly formed all-women Hatzolah division in Brooklyn.
A state-certified emergency medical technician and mother herself, she said her group has a list of about 200 trained Orthodox Jewish women who could respond to medical calls in the neighborhood.
“There are strict rules between men and women, except in the case of Hatzolah,” she said. “The problem is that any number of men might respond to a call on Hatzolah.” That has been a source of “tremendous embarrassment” for some women, she said.
“It’s quite unfortunate that it’s been the case when seven or eight men have responded to a woman in labor call,” she said. “If birth is imminent, that’s how many people are watching. And it’s a very, very troubling situation for a woman.”
She said a core group of about five women had spearheaded the proposal and that it is drawing wider support. She emphasized that in no way did they want to or expect to work alongside the men of Hatzolah, suggesting they could have their own ambulances available to them.
“We don’t want to be socializing with the men of Hatzolah,” she said.
Chevra Hatzalah, a registered nonprofit, serves much of metropolitan New York City, including Borough Park. They dispatch about 50,000 calls a year and have 1,200 volunteers, said its CEO, Rabbi David Cohen.
Interviewed recently about the women’s proposal, Cohen said he had not heard from the group of women directly but had read about their proposal.
Nevertheless, he declined to answer specific questions about it.
“I really haven’t talked to the people. I don’t know what they want exactly,” he said, adding that Hatzolah’s four-member rabbinical board released an internal memo saying that they should not engage in discussions on the matter.
He said a similar proposal had been rejected about 25 years ago — and that nothing had changed since then. “We have an internal statement basically saying we are continuing our policy,” he said.
Heshy Jacobs, a member of Chevra Hatzalah’s executive board, told the popular Orthodox Jewish blog Vos Iz Neias that adding women could affect response time.
“There are many things at which women are superior, but when it comes to speed and physical strength, which are both of the essence in a medical emergency, it is a proven fact that men have an advantage,” Jacobs told VIN News in September. “Additionally we already have systems in place to get our responders in place as quickly as possible. …By introducing women into the scenario, you are adding another layer to the process and you are talking about a situation where a delay of seconds can literally cost lives.”
Renee Ghert-Zand, a contributor to a blog on women’s issues, Sisterhood, published by the Jewish publication the Forward, said the refusal to allow women to volunteer for Hatzolah was an example of discrimination against women.
“Women have been increasingly marginalized from public life and from public view under the pretext of modesty,” she said. “They’re saying it’s not modest for women to give emergency care. I see absolutely no reason why that should not happen. There are women who are trained in the medical profession.”
Freier said in an email that she had attempted to reach Hatzolah’s CEO and set up a meeting for July or August. “The initial plan was for me to meet with Hatzolah and explain the need for women to join,” she said. However, I was told that the policy of women not joining Hatzolah was set years ago.”
Undeterred, she said she is discussing the matter with rabbinical leaders in the community.
“We’re just trying to make a great organization even better,” she said. “We’re not filing a complaint. We’re coming with a suggestion.”
larry
its about time.
Y. B.
Let them do it on their OWN etc.
Its a great idea but I see no need to JOIN hatzalah, let them do it on their own, have their OWN number, and let women choose to call them if they like.
A women in labor can decid if she wants hatzalah or “Ezras Noshim”
vegas
finally!! this is years to late
former EMT and Doula and mother
YEAH, FInally, i hope it gets up and running, unfortunately there is a lot of resistance. Many of us have been proposing a hatzolah for years with women on board to respond to labor and gyn calls or a separate hatzolah for women gyn and ob calls by women. All the reasons put forth to stop it by the members of hatzolah are invalid when it comes to women.
We can get dressed just as fast, if we have small children who need childcare, our husbands, if they agree could take over the childcare for a few hours, or maybe the women that will volunteer will not have childcare as an issue,
women together can lift another woman, we are not weaklings contrary to what some hatzalah members may think.
as far as the issue that i have heard in the past about men and women working together in an emergency situation and it breeding familiarity. guess what, you are so focused on the emergency, how can you think about each other and afterwards, whose to say you have to get friendly? If men have a problem controlling themselves with women other than their wives, than that’s their problem. a whole community of women shouldn’t have to suffer embarassment and humilitation because of it. ,
i have some more news to share with you. I once asked a rav about this and i was told, it’s much more problematic for a man to render medical care to a woman than a woman to render medical care to a man and how much more so for a wwoman to render medical care for antoher women.
Maybe it will finally happen. If it does, i’ll renew my EMT license in a second. Ladies, go for it, i wish you all the best.
to number 2
rhats a great idea
Sara un Florida
Remember, these are emergencies only and when we are talking about an “emergency” there is no need to pick a female versus a male. Rather we act in the best interests to save a life. I think this an unnecessary push when there are far more important needs that aren’t being met in our communities. As a nurse, mother, teacher and Orthodox woman I never chose based on sex in a time of need but rather qualified and haste in an emergency.
Miriam
FINALLY! go for it i think u will do great .
Camp Emunah
GO JILLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!
Thinkster
OK, so women can be EMTs. What about medics (advanced life support)? Won’t be too many women in that category. So there will be guys and girls at calls together.
I still think it should happen. But I can see a lot of politics involved,
There may also be safety issues involved with women responding one up to a call. Say a woman calls Hatzolah requesting a woman responder – at 3am. What she doesn’t say is that she was just beaten by her husband who’s still in the room. You get the picture.
Good luck women – I hope you get somewhere with it.
To #2
#2 took the words right out of my keyboard…If Hatzalah is too exclusive, let them make their own instead of fighting them.
clear the air
here we go again. can someone please explain what exactly the issue is. if a women doesn’t what men (from hatzolah), showing up at her house when she is going into labor, THEN LET HER NOT WAIT FOR THE LAST SECOND,(which is most times the case) AND THEN USE OUR HATZOLAH MEMBERS AS TAXI DRIVER”S.
argh!
exactly #12 also, most OBGYNs are MALE! instead of making trouble just start your OWN…and then the woman could decide if she wants jill lerner or a hatzalah member!
Shifra & Puah
Didn’t Yocheved and Miriam already start this more than 3,300 years before Hatzalah was formed?
Andrea Schonberger
This is a great idea! After all, there are lady gynecologists, obstetricians, and when I was operated on last year for kidney cancer the surgeon was a lady urologist.
really?
memo:
at least half of all people that Hatzalo serves are women.
Really? YES! Amazing!
to number 12
You are obviously not a woman!
Sometimes you do not know how fast a baby will come. Emergencies happen. My neighbor had a baby a week ago and it was delivered by hatzaloh, on shabbos. Nothing to do with going to the hospital in time.
Anonymous
To # 12-here we go again. Not every woman waits until the last second intentionally. Babies can be born very quickly and it is not just full term labor. We are talking about unfortunate occurrences like miscarriages,pre-term labor,bleeding.Do I have to give any more details?
DTorres
Hip! Hip! Hurray for #7Sara.
The principal concern is to save a life.
Gender should not be an issue.
I wish I could have said it as well as Sara did.
Former..... . . . woman?
I agree with #2 ,#11, #12 – if its such an issue to women start your own organization – or join one that exists but is not hatzolah, a private amb. company or another like east Midwood (i think they already have some wonem.)
emergencies do happen
to #12
not saying i agree with this but sometimes emergencies do happen with pregnancies and you can’t wait so its not a matter of waiting too late sometimes
Teen hatzalah
I think its a great I idea as a matter of fact I believe there should be a teen hatzalah as well if a 18 year old girl gets pregnant she probably won’t want every one to know and if a 16 year old kid gets drunk he doesnt want his mother to know either, we must start a teen hatzalah right away and worst comes to worst if there are no teen members available at least we know we can count on jill.
great great great idea
would prefer a qualified woman ANY DAY to a man (for these issues)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This does not take away from the appreciation we have for the males in Hatzolah.
But its quite simple, we would much rather have a woman there than a man, or like they write, unfortunately-sometimes SEVERAL men arrive (especially a man from our very own community). It is extremely embaressing and horryfying for the woman.
retired EMT
I think it is a great idea and woman should have the right to volunteer for Hatzalah, although I think there should be a private hot line for the woman of Hatzalah that need help from females. its not a matter of the respect between men and woman, its a matter of Life & death.
anon
I think they should do it – AS LONG AS THEY ARE FULLY TRAINED IN ALL MEDICAL EMERGENCIES (minor to major) AND PHYSICALLY FIT. Then they have my blessing, go right ahead.
to #12
You are a pompous idiot! Unless you are a health care professional measuring the distance of the uteris,no one knows a far a woman is in labor. there are times/cases where labor only gets strong and painful at the last minute.
Chaim Tovim
better late than never… It’s about time.
clear the air 2#25
mr know it it all, 1. my father actually works in hatzolah, and almost all of the calls are NOT emergency’s. 2. if it is an emergency, then good luck with waiting for this women’s division, there is a reason why hatzolah is all male, face it, women have what they are good at ,as do men, don’t start mixing. 3. i’m all for such an organization, but don’t mix it with hatzolah, don’t just think about yourselves, rather think about halacha, and how uncomfortable it is for the hatzolah members as well.
Just making sure
I would assume all woman in favor of this “new” experiment are strictly using female OBGYN’s…
to #27
not so sure you’re right
i“ve heard Hatzolah members speak about being at a delivery as ”now I can check that off the list of things I’ve wanted to do it…”
Not so sure that they are all so uncomfortable, some of them consider it an amazing experience
us women, would much prefer that they are NOT part of this particular experience in our lives
In addition, some of them who have gone to a woman in labor have then gone home and told their wives (without giving names) that they just did a labor call…
In any case, if qualified, would much much much much much more prefer a woman
Worried
This stupid discussion may bring about the dismantling of Hatzoloh as we know it if not close it down completely.
The reason being that the founders and leaders of Hatzoloh are Chareidi Jews from Skver and Stamar, and they will never agree to this idea.
This discussion and their refusal to consent will set of a barrage of news article and stupid conversations on the internet describing the narrow-mindedness of the backward Chareidi Jews.
Finally the articles will drag the City Council to investigate the discriminatory practices of Hatzoloh, and the city will then revoke their permits and then someone will followup by suing Hatzoloh in court in front of Liberal judges, and there goes Hatzoloh.
Be careful what you pray for.
DaasTorah
I would be fine with Hatzalah being sued and forced to accept female volunteers.
common sense
Who will cook my dinner while the women are answering hatzolah calls? Women should stay in the kitchen where they belong.
Before you start writing all your nasty replies its called sarcasm. But unfortunately cheuvanism is more prevelant than common sense in the frum world. its 2011 men should stop wearing fur loin clothes, carrying clubs and living in caves im sorry to be so blunt but yeah they sound like idiots with their arguments
Realism
At #32 – what’s wrong with fur loin cloths? You’re discriminating!
As for Hatzolah, it rocks! And by the way, for all you women out there that don’t want a frum guy at your birth, there’s always FDNY! Good luck!
2#31
what an idiot, and sick person. daas torah says that u should go straight to…
2#27
1. did you actually hear this from hatzolah members direct, or it was from those people who love bashing them. 2. lets even say there are two or three such members, what about the rest 3. “In any case, if qualified, would much much much much much more prefer a womam” no one said not, BUT DON’T MIX IT WITH HATZOLAH. or call the local ems.
Sarah J. in Florida
I think there is no reason women cant join Hatzolah! Women can be ER docs? why not let them be EMT. JILL HAS BEEN TRAINING EMT’S SOOOO WHY WOULDNT SHE BE BETTER THEN ANY MAN SHE COULD TRAIN? HMMMM Way to go Jill (yocheved) and the other women that would like to do this. If I relocate to NY I would love to be an EMT.
MZ, a female NO to women-s hatzollah
Just imagine – you go into preterm labor, with placenta previa, and you start hemorraging, you know it’s an emergency, the baby is in distress. Seconds count – will your baby be born alive and NORMAL, or dead or brain damaged CV”S?
Now with time working against you, and a male hazallah member right next door, you really want to WAIT till some lady from 10 blocks away puts on her shaitel and robe? GEVALT. What is wrong with you?
When my pregnant daughter-in-law called hatzallah at 2:00am one shabbos morning, the guys showed up in jogging pants, hazallah jackets over their pj’s, and their wife’s fuzzy bedroom slippers! Which orhodox woman who cares about tznius is going to rush out of her bedroom dressed like that?
Besides, there are more men, with more experience in resuscitation, cardiac emergencies, etc., than women, and they are likely going to be closer to you than this handful of women volunteers. Seconds make the difference betwen life and death, between normal and brain damaged.
The Rebbe always said to go to the BEST doctor. When did he ever say to go to a less qualified doctor just because you are a woman? THAT would be discimination.
Don’t be a stupid chossid.
I vote NO to the dangerous women’s response team.
DaasTorah
#37 is clearly a single man who is angry at women
CHANA LERNERS CLASS FROM MIAMI
YAY JILL! YOU GO GIRL!
WE MISS YOU! THANK YOU FOR THE ORANGES IN SECOND GRADE!
Mrs. Segal
When my father ob”m had a stroke in Highland Park, new Jersey, the local EMT’s were a shomer shabbos male and female from the local orthodox community. There is no hatzala in Highland Park just regular city ambulances. If the woman is physically fit and trained then what is the problem?
Gratitude
Thank you for posting this juicy article online. It is very interesting.
lalalalalalalalala
Who runs the world, Girls Girls, who runs the world, girls Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
aNONYMOUS
Women should be delivering babies, just like they did in the days of Shifra and Pua. Hurray for Ezras Noshim!
sfishernyc
“’I really haven’t talked to the people. I don’t know what they want exactly,’ he said, adding that Hatzolah’s four-member rabbinical board released an internal memo saying that they should not engage in discussions on the matter.
He said a similar proposal had been rejected about 25 years ago — and that nothing had changed since then.”
—
Really, Rabbi Cohen? While I have deep respect for your volunteer corps, I find your stated provincialism deeply troubling.
–a proud member of what Chevra Hatzalah Executive Board member Heshy Jacobs reportedly considers an other, unnecessary, time-consuming “additional layer” of society