In honor of Shavuot: meet two medics who keep Israel’s dairy industry flowing and their neighbors in good health.
Living in an area of Israel where heightened vigilance is the norm makes being a MAGEN DAVID ADOM medic extra meaningful. Two volunteer EMTs in the Gaza Envelope area combine their passion for saving lives with their professional work sustaining Israel’s reputation as the Land of Milk and Honey. Both Jack Sardes and Avital Oppenheimer Medina are kibbutzniks who work hard in their kibbutz dairy barns keeping the milk flowing, and dedicate their precious free time to saving lives. Their kibbutzim were both targeted by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and each has their own story of bravery from that difficult day.
Jack Sardes is a 66-year-old whose day job is running the Kibbutz Zikim cowshed. Born in Uruguay, Sardes immigrated to Israel 43 years ago and settled in Zikim where he lives with his wife and three children.
For the past 19 years, Sardes has also volunteered as a senior EMT and ambulance driver at MAGEN DAVID ADOM. “I joined MAGEN DAVID ADOM because I wanted to be sure I would know what to do in an emergency due to the tense security situation,” he said.
Sardes, who regularly takes shifts at MAGEN DAVID ADOM’s station in Ashkelon, keeps an ambulance parked outside his home, allowing him respond to emergencies quickly.
“On Saturday mornings, two other dairy farmers and I have a habit of drinking coffee together in the barn,” said Sardes.
“When the sirens started blaring on October 7, we all hurried home to stay safe. I received a message saying that terrorists had infiltrated Zikim beach, but the kibbutz security squad managed to overtake them. Unfortunately, a few members of the squad were shot and injured in the fight. Despite my family’s fears about encountering terrorists, I left my house to treat my neighbors and drove them to the hospital in the MAGEN DAVID ADOM ambulance.”
Just a few kilometers away, Avital Oppenheimer Medina, 53, manages the Kibbutz Urim dairy farm. Mother to four children, Medina and her husband moved to Kibbutz Urim 13 years ago, fulfilling a lifelong dream of living on a kibbutz.
Like living on the kibbutz, volunteering with MAGEN DAVID ADOM was another aspiration of Medina’s, and now she is able to fulfill both dreams. “When my children were grown, I realized it was time for me to turn my dream into reality.”
Medina was in the middle of her studies to become a MAGEN DAVID ADOM EMT when terrorists stormed the bucolic kibbutz on October 7 and shot Chaim, Medina’s husband, while he was out on a bike ride. Medina found herself caring for her injured husband while reassuring her frightened children and fielding brutal news from friends throughout the day. “I cut off all feelings that day and just functioned on autopilot,” she recalled.
Medina’s family was evacuated from the kibbutz following October 7, however, she stayed behind to manage the barn alone.
Despite the tensity in the area, her demanding work in the dairy barn, and living apart from her family and needing to visit them, Medina managed to complete her EMT training. She volunteers at MAGEN DAVID ADOM’s Ofakim station and keeps a MAGEN DAVID ADOM bag stocked with essential medical supplies at her home so she will be prepared in case help is needed on the kibbutz.
Now fully certified, Medina can take off her muck boots, don her MAGEN DAVID ADOM uniform, and save lives as an EMT.
