Emergency Training: Israeli Paramedics Teach US Security Directors

Security directors protecting Jewish communities in North America now have access to emergency medical protocols developed by Israel’s national ambulance service. The Secure Community Network (SCN) introduced the curriculum at its annual Security Summit last month. The session marked the first time Magen David Adom (MDA) trained the SCN Security Director Network directly.

The partnership follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between SCN and American Friends of MDA. The agreement formalizes a plan to bring Israeli emergency response expertise to Jewish groups across the continent. The training program combines classroom instruction, hands-on practice, and train-the-trainer sessions. Key skills covered include scene assessment, severe bleeding control, triage, and response coordination.

Catherine Reed, CEO of American Friends of MDA, emphasized the value of immediate action. "Israelis have learned something the hard way: the minutes before the ambulance arrives belong to whoever is already standing there," she said. Raphael Herbst, Deputy Director of International Relations at MDA, noted that people at the scene can preserve life if they possess the knowledge and confidence to act during a mass casualty incident.

SCN CEO Michael Masters described the initiative as a pilot program leveraging MDA’s frontline experience. "We are thrilled to launch this pilot with MDA, whose emergency responders bring decades of frontline experience," Masters said. He noted that security professionals representing 95% of North American community security programs participated in the summit sessions. Masters added that the program complements SCN’s existing Stop the Bleed initiative.

The pilot aims to prepare directors to deliver the MDA course in more than 550 communities and key centers of Jewish life, including summer camps and university campuses. Joint trainings for community members are scheduled in select communities in the near term. Daniel Kochavi, Chief of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at American Friends of MDA, stated that the experience gained from past events can now help protect communities thousands of miles away.

Kochavi added, "Our hope is that they never need to use this training, but if they do, they'll be ready." The new course expands SCN’s security resources for professionals protecting synagogues, schools, and institutions. The catalog already includes BeAware, Countering Active Threat Training, Stop The Bleed, and the Guardian program.

This initiative is part of SCN’s broader expansion of protective measures. The organization recently launched an oral history project called Standing with Strength: Stories of Survival. The project preserves accounts from survivors of attacks in Pittsburgh, Poway, Colleyville, Overland Park, and Surfside. SCN integrates these testimonies into its educational programs while operating its 24/7 Jewish Security Operations Command Center.