Passing it Forward: An Ambulance for Israel

The story begins with a random act of kindness and generosity from a 13 year old bar mitzvah boy, Robert Leeds.  When the invitations to Roberts' bar mitzvah were mailed, the return card stated, “In lieu of gifts, let’s come together and do a very special act of kindness in our holy land. Join hands and put a lifesaving ambulance on the ground in Israel. Please send your tax-deductible contribution in Robert’s honor to MDA.”

The guests responded, and enough money was raised to donate two ambulances to Israel.


On January 8, one of those ambulances will be dedicated to the City of Ashkelon by members of the Sacramento city council, the American Friends of Magen David Adom (Israeli Red Cross) and  StandWithUs  in honor of the newly created sister-city relationship with Sacramento.

From Algemeiner:

“The ambulance dedication is a thank you to the city of Sacramento for approving the newest sister city resolution with Ashkelon last August despite opposition from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in their on-going attempts to pariah the state of Israel,” Gail Rubin, representing the Sacramento-Davis area chapter of SWU, told JNS.org.

Rubin said Leeds “understands the true meaning of doing good deeds for others, as this ambulance will help save lives.”

“This is a great story of a young man seeing a need and making a difference,” Sacramento Councilmember Steve Cohn, who was one of the councilmembers behind the initiative, said in a statement.
Leeds said in a statement that it is his hope to show Israel and the City of Ashkelon that I stand with them and that’s what becoming a man means to me.”

 Yossi Mentz  Western Regional Director of the American Friends of Magen David declared “Robert’s bar mitzvah had both the bar and a mitzvah. There’s no greater mitzvah than saving a life.”