Egyptian

One of the recipients of the 2012 Moskowitz Prize for Zionism is Dr. Yitzhak Glick. Dr. Glick was born in the United States in 1960, made aliyah and settled in the Gush Etzion town of Efrat. He is married and a father of five. During his military service in the IDF Armored Corps, he participated in the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yakub during the First Lebanon war and, after witnessing his peers falling in battle and being taken in captivity, he decided to change his life’s direction and study medicine, in order to spend his career saving lives. Every month, Dr. Glick flies to Cleveland, Ohio, where for years he has worked in a hospital emergency room. When he comes home to Israel, he volunteers at the Efrat Emergency Medical Center, along with the other doctors and paramedics who work under his guidance. To date, the emergency medical center has served more than 50,000 patients who live in the area from Kiryat Arba to Jerusalem. Dr. Glick refuses to receive any pay or remuneration for the treatment he provides at the Efrat Emergency Medical Center. The death of his good friend, Dr. David Applebaum, who was killed in the Cafe Hillel bombing in Jerusalem in 2003, infused Dr. Glick with a renewed desire to treat victims of terrorism and to use what he learned from Dr. Applebaum to apply to emergency and terror situations. In the 12 years that he has volunteered his services, he has been the first on the scene, tending to those injured in traffic accidents and victims of terrorism in the area where he lives. Often, Dr. Glick reaches the scene before an ambulance, and is able to provide immediate emergency medical care. Dr. Glick is a well known figure among the Gush Etzion community, which lauds him as a guardian angel. His fellow volunteers speak of his humane, calm and patient personality, which he displays in particularly difficult times. At a ceremony held in 2009, Dr. Glick received the Presidential Award for Volunteerism from President Shimon Peres, in recognition of his significant contribution to Israeli society. Brig. Gen. (Res.) Avigdor Kahalani, a member of the judging committee, said, “Dr. Glick impressed the committee with his dream of establishing an emergency medical center in Efrat. He knew that Efrat was the most suitable and appropriate location in the area to serve as a base for such a center. He succeeded in opening the hearts and minds of critical decision-makers, and obtained the large donations needed to establish the center. His actions were those of a true trailblazer, a visionary who transformed an important idea into reality.” The annual Moskowitz Prize was established by Dr. Irving and Cherna Moskowitz, as an expression of support for the people who implement Zionism in today's society, and who work for the betterment of society and to strengthen the Jewish national home.