Political Quotes

“For 75 years, the Magen David Adom has served as Israel's emergency relief service.. Founded in 1930 by seven Israeli doctors and a one-room emergency medical service, the MDA has grown to play a major role working alongside the Israeli Army Medical Corps in times of war and peace. Twelve hundred employees and more than 10,000 volunteers have helped countless disaster, accident, and terrorism victims within Israel's borders. And on battlefields and disaster areas around the world, the relief service has distinguished itself with consummate caring, professionalism and bravery. Even the United States has been a beneficiary of the MDA's humanitarian efforts. Most recently, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina MDA Israel launched an emergency mission named ``United Brotherhood'' to collect donations, funds, clothing and other equipment for the New Orleans survivors who were left homeless. Despite their indisputably noble work, for nearly 60 years the organization has been excluded from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The reason? The Israeli agency has been excluded for 60 years because of its decision to retain its own protective symbol rather than adopt the Red Cross or the Red Crescent. Finally, this month, the impasse was broken. An overwhelming majority of the state-parties to the Geneva Conventions approved a new protective symbol--a ``Red Crystal''--to allow the relief agency to operate as a member of the global humanitarian movement.…”