MDA suspends volunteer for racism against Hezbollah victim

Magen David Adom suspended a volunteer who celebrated the death of Safa Kat Awad, an Israeli-Arab woman who was killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack in Shfaram in northern Israel, the national emergency service announced in a post to X/Twitter on Tuesday. 

They stated that the volunteer was suspended and would be summoned for a disciplinary investigation. 

In their post, Magen David Adom wrote, "MDA [Magen David Adom] strongly condemns any expression of racism, which is inconsistent with the organization's values."

"Immediately upon receiving information about the post, the volunteer was suspended from her position and summoned for a disciplinary investigation," they stated.

"At MDA, religious and secular, Jews and Arabs work together every day to save everyone's lives - out of an absolute commitment to equality, human dignity, and the organization's values," their statement concluded. 

מד"א מגנה בתוקף כל ביטוי של גזענות שאינו תואם את ערכי הארגון. מיד עם קבלת המידע על הפוסט, המתנדבת הושעתה מתפקידה וזומנה לבירור משמעתי. במד"א פועלים יחד יום-יום יהודים וערבים דתיים וחילונים למען הצלת חיים של כולם – מתוך מחויבות מוחלטת לשוויון, כבוד האדם וערכי הארגון.

— מגן דוד אדום (@mda_israel) November 19, 2024

'There is nothing to pity'

The suspended volunteer, who could only be identified by her name on Instagram as Noa, commented on a post writing, "There is nothing to pity. She is a terrorist for all intents and purposes." Along with calling Awad a terrorist, she also used expletives when describing her.  

Awad, a resident of Shfaram in her 50s, was killed while in a safe room in a building. She had been critically wounded, and paramedics who arrived at the scene pronounced her dead. 

MDA paramedic Hamza Al Hija recounted what he saw upon arrival at the scene. "We arrived quickly at the scene and began searching the four-story building. On the top floor, we found a female aged about 50 with a multi-system injury. She was unconscious with no pulse and not breathing, and we pronounced her death at the scene.

"Tragically, a woman was killed after a rocket directly hit a residential building," United Hatzalah paramedic Rami Swaid said.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.