The Red Cross - the inverse of the Swiss flag, the country of origin of the founder of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement - is not intended as a religious symbol, but is often perceived as such.Ĭritics of the ICRC assert discrimination since Turkey and Egypt were granted membership in 1929 while using the Islamic Red Crescent as their emblem, citing the same concerns about the cross. Similar concerns of India, Ceylon and the former Soviet Union regarding the use of non-Hindu and seemingly religious symbols were also dismissed by the ICRC, but their national bodies chose to adopt the Red Cross as their official emblems in order to gain entry. The 'Red Star of David' symbol was not submitted to the ICRC until 1931. The official reason for the denial of membership was concerns about symbol proliferation at the same 1929 conference which granted use of the Red Crescent and Red Lion and Sun, a limitation was placed on acceptance of any further emblems. Unique among civilian emergency medical services in Israel due to its role as national aid society according to the Geneva Conventions, MDA can become an auxiliary arm of the Israel Defense Forces during times of war.įrom its creation until 2006, Magen David Adom had been denied membership in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement since it has refused to replace its red Star of David emblem with a pre-approved symbol. Previous attempts to integrate independent helicopter service in the 1970s were unsuccessful due to high cost.

Air ambulance service is provided by Israeli Air Force MEDEVAC helicopters, however MDA imported four MBB Bo 105 from Germany and plans to employ them to improve response times in peripheral areas. Most major stations also include special units for responding to mass-casualty incidents like natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Most of the fleet is made up of regular size vans manned by the equivalents of 'basic' (EMT-B, Hovesh) and 'intermediate' (EMT-I, Hovesh Bacir) emergency medical technicians as well as teenage and international volunteers (often qualified as first responders), while MICUs similar to the US Type II units and manned by paramedics and physicians respond only to the most medically serious cases. The organization operates 95 stations with a fleet of over 700 ambulances, mobile intensive care units (MICU) and armored ambulances nationwide. MDA headquarters and its blood bank are located at the Tel HaShomer complex. Though MDA currently staffs approximately 1,200 emergency medical technicians, paramedics and emergency physicians, it still relies heavily on over 10,000 volunteers who serve in both operational and administrative capacities. In 1950 the Knesset passed a law making MDA's status as Israel's national emergency service official.

After opening branches in Jerusalem and Haifa, it was extended nationwide five years later, providing medical support to the public and the Haganah. The Magen David Adom organization was formed in 1930 as a volunteer association with a single branch in Tel Aviv.

Magen david adom preferential treatment