National-Civil service volunteers honored
National-Civil service volunteers honoredSasson Tiram

About 1,000 volunteers, coordinators and representatives of organizations participated on Thursday in the third annual appreciation event for national-civil service volunteers. The event is organized by the National-Civil Service Administration.

Among the attendees at the event were Minister of Science and Technology and head of the National-Civil Service Daniel Hershkowitz, Vice Prime Minister and Minister for the Development of the Negev and Galilee Silvan Shalom, Sar-Shalom Jerbi, Director General of the National Service Administration, and others.

Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said during the event, “All citizens of Israel should serve their country, be it through military service or national-civil service. This is a key to integration into society. The Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee provides funding and will continue to provide funding to hundreds of national-civil service volunteers so that they can continue their work and contribute to the Negev and Galilee and strengthen them.”

Minister Hershkowitz told the crowd, “We are commanded to fight for the land, build the country and plant trees in it. The greatest deed is performed by those who, for various reasons, have an exemption from military duty and yet still contribute to society and to the State. National-civil service builds the Land of Israel in all areas and I feel privileged to stand among you, and be in charge of the national-civil service.”

The event honored eight outstanding volunteers of the national-civil service, who received a certificate of recognition of their achievements. These included 24-year-old Yossi Katzav, a hareidi-religious man who volunteers as an assistant rabbi at the Israeli Prison Service, Anwar Ali, a resident of the northern Israeli Arab village of Bir al-Maksur who volunteers at the Carmel Hospital in Haifa, and Carmela Kaziab, a volunteer at a school for children with special needs.