Haredi women in New York win battle to have their own ambulance service

Published: 18 August 2020

Last updated: 4 March 2024

Application for a licence was blocked for months as the all-male Hatzolah, the main organization providing emergency services, opposed the move

A WOMEN-ONLY volunteer emergency medical team serving the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, will get its own ambulance after months of opposition from male volunteers.

Ezras Nashim, a growing group of some 30 Orthodox Jewish women, was founded in 2014 to provide a more comfortable environment for women needing emergency medical care.

The group’s application for an ambulance license had been blocked for months as the all-male Hatzolah, the main organization providing emergency services in Orthodox Jewish communities, continuously opposed the move. Ezras Nashim had already raised the necessary $125,000 to purchase the vehicle.

On Thursday, the license was finally approved by the New York State Emergency Medical Services Council with a vote of 23 to 2.

“We are so beyond excited,” Charna Goldsmith, one of the volunteers, told Haaretz. “It’s the most amazing feeling ever!”

FULL STORY Orthodox Jewish women volunteering in NYC get own ambulance after months-long battle (Haaretz)

Photo: Haredi mothers in Brooklyn (JTA)