The Jew Project: Eli Beer, Founder and President of United Hatzalah in Israel
The Jew Project, created by photographer Yisroel Teitelbaum aims to unify the Jewish people through documenting the lives of individuals. To read more on The Jew Project Click Here.
Born in Israel, Eli witnessed a terror attack at the age of seven, which inspired in him a lifetime commitment to saving lives and ultimately led him to create United Hatzalah. Eli became a volunteer medic as a teenager and has been revolutionizing emergency medical response ever since. With more than three decades of EMS experience, Eli has treated thousands of patients and led responses to some of Israel’s most challenging civil, wartime, and terror-related incidents.
On October 7th, 2023, Eli Beer coordinated United Hatzalah’s rescue efforts from the organization’s main dispatch center in Jerusalem. Thanks to the heroic efforts of more than 1,500 volunteers who responded to the attacks, United Hatzalah treated 4,720 victims, evacuated 1,250 patients to hospitals and saved hundreds of lives.
Even as a young volunteer medic, Eli realized that emergency response times needed to improve. To solve the problem, Eli introduced the “ambucycle,” a motorcycle equipped with life-saving medical supplies that allows responders to reach emergencies in minutes, far faster than traditional ambulances. Since its founding, United Hatzalah has grown into Israel’s largest all volunteer, 100% free EMS response service, with urban response times of 90 seconds or less.
Eli Beer is also a renowned social entrepreneur and speaker, recognized globally for his humanitarian efforts and innovations in medical response. His groundbreaking TED Talk was viewed around the world and he is the recipient of numerous awards including Social Entrepreneur of the Year in Israel and the Presidential Award for Volunteerism in Israel.
His biography, “90 Seconds,” which includes the story of his near-death experience from COVID-19, chronicles his journey from a young boy with a dream to save lives to the leader of one of the most successful and pioneering EMS services in the world.
