The vice president of Magen David Adom UK has donated a mobile intensive care unit to the Israeli ambulance service in memory of an MDA paramedic murdered on October 7.

The generous gift from Judy Saphra has added momentum to the JC’s campaign to raise £35,000 for an emergency medi-cycle – an emergency motorbike – for MDA. 

She is now calling on JC readers to dig deep, saying: “An MDA motorbike is the fastest way to save somebody’s life. A paramedic can just jump on the back of it and go. Donating money towards something that can save a life is the best way that Jews in the diaspora can help Israel.”

Aharon Chaimov, 25, was shot and killed on his way to treating victims of the Hamas terrorist attack in his hometown of Ofakim, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters.

Judy said that it was the murder in Libya of her own father - killed for being Jewish - which influenced her decision.

“The minute I heard about Aharon, I wanted to dedicate the unit to him,” said Judy, who lives in Hendon, north-west London. “Unfortunately, he died in very similar circumstances to my father. My father was 32, and my mother was only 24 and pregnant with me.”

Aharon Chaimov, an MDA paramedic, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 (Photo: MDA UK)

Aharon was a senior paramedic, who first joined MDA as a volunteer after high school, later becoming a professional paramedic and ambulance driver.

At the time of his murder, MDA director general Eli Bin said: “He was a person who put the good of others and the value of life ahead of everything else – including … on this tragic morning.”

Judy told the JC: “[Aharon] was trying to save lives when he was killed. Now his name is on an ambulance to save lives when his own life couldn’t be saved.”

She said it had been important for her to have Aharon’s wife and mother at the dedication. “I wanted to meet the family. They were really nice, but it was terribly emotional. I was just shaking.”

Speaking at the dedication, Aharon’s wife, Noami Chaimov, said that “[Aharon] saw MDA not only as a job but also as something he felt he had to do. He would go out on shifts and come home exhausted but very fulfilled. When called out, he would go as fast as he could to treat patients, always doing everything from the bottom of his heart.”

Magen David Adom UK’s chief executive, Daniel Burger (left), an MDA medic, MDA UK’s vice president Judy Saphra (third from left) and the Chaimov family, in front of the mobile intensive care unit donated in memory of Aharon Chaimov (Photo: MDA UK)

Aharon’s mother said at the dedication that whilst she “may not know everyone in the room, I feel very loved by those here and at MDA. A very big thank you also goes to Judy for all that she has done and continues to do.”

The Magen David Adom MICU is a state-of-the-art vehicle with the most advanced medical capabilities in the world, allowing paramedics to administer cutting-edge life support treatment for pre-hospitalisation care.

Daniel Burger, CEO of MDA UK, who was at the dedication, said: “Thank you, Judy, for this beautiful and remarkable gift in Aharon’s memory. Here is a vehicle that is already saving lives. It recently saw the delivery of a baby, bringing life into the world. There is life and light amongst the darkness.”

The dedication for Aharon Chaimov on the MDA mobile intensive care unit, donated in his memory by MDA UK vice president Judy Saphra (Photo: MDA UK)

It is the sixth MDA vehicle Judy has donated, having already given a bloodmobile, a motorbike, two ambulances and another MICU. The first ambulance, in 2019, was in memory of her husband, David Saphra, and another was in memory of her parents Lisa and Pinchas Roumani.

Magen David Adom (MDA) is Israel’s only national emergency medical service and blood services organisation. 

It provides treatment to any individual who needs help, regardless of ethnicity, race, or political or religious affiliation.

Jewish Chronicle readers are raising £35,000 for a new motorcycle ambulance for Magen David Adom to mark one year since October 7. To donate, please click here