An alert and determined Magen David Adom telephone receptionist apparently saved the life of a woman in Beit She'an.
The story took place last night when an emergency call was received in the Afula office of MDA. "Please help me, save me," cried a woman - and a few seconds later, the phone went dead. Operator Smadar Ben-Chaim had called over a Russian-speaking friend to listen in, and the two heard a man threatening to kill a woman, while in the background was heard screaming and the sounds of a fight. Smadar dialed the number - which had flashed on the screen during the original call - over and over, until after several long minutes, the endangered woman finally picked up the phone. Smadar asked her where she lives, heard only, "Beit She'an" - and the phone went dead again.
Smadar did not give up, called once again - and finally received the precise address. The police were immediately alerted, made their way to the apartment - and found a man beating his wife, as well as his 16-year-old daughter who tried to defend her. The man, who had been banned by court order from entering the home, was arrested, while the MDA paramedic who arrived on the scene said, "If it wasn't for the stubbornness of the operator, the story could have ended in murder."
Statistics for 1992-2001 indicate that 35.6% of all women murdered in Israel during that period were new immigrants - more than twice as much as their relative size in the population. Three women were murdered by their husbands in the past week, according to the "Combat Violence Against Women" organization.
The story took place last night when an emergency call was received in the Afula office of MDA. "Please help me, save me," cried a woman - and a few seconds later, the phone went dead. Operator Smadar Ben-Chaim had called over a Russian-speaking friend to listen in, and the two heard a man threatening to kill a woman, while in the background was heard screaming and the sounds of a fight. Smadar dialed the number - which had flashed on the screen during the original call - over and over, until after several long minutes, the endangered woman finally picked up the phone. Smadar asked her where she lives, heard only, "Beit She'an" - and the phone went dead again.
Smadar did not give up, called once again - and finally received the precise address. The police were immediately alerted, made their way to the apartment - and found a man beating his wife, as well as his 16-year-old daughter who tried to defend her. The man, who had been banned by court order from entering the home, was arrested, while the MDA paramedic who arrived on the scene said, "If it wasn't for the stubbornness of the operator, the story could have ended in murder."
Statistics for 1992-2001 indicate that 35.6% of all women murdered in Israel during that period were new immigrants - more than twice as much as their relative size in the population. Three women were murdered by their husbands in the past week, according to the "Combat Violence Against Women" organization.