In response to the string of anti-Semitic attacks sweeping across Europe in recent times, the heads of the European Jewish Association (EJA) and of the RCE decided to train European Rabbanim in methods of self-defence and in providing aid to victims of terror. The Conference was arranged with the help of the Chulia Fund, which is under the auspices of the Matanel Foundation, directed by Mr. Albert Aflalo.

At the Conference, which took place in the kasher lamehadrin Hotel King David in Prague, with the participation of approximately one hundred community rabbis from all over Europe, Rabbanim were presented with various scenarios involving anti-Semitic terrorist acts against Jewish institutions. The Rabbanim practiced basic self-defence moves to be used in case someone would try to stab or shoot them, or if they were to find themselves at the scene of a terrorist attack. The training was facilitated by members of Zaka and United Hatzalah, who demonstrated and helped the Rabbanim practice neutralizing a terrorist, and also provided basic training for assisting victims of terror.

The training began with a call for help, sent to cell phones, which demonstrated to the 100 European Rabbanim the effectiveness and power of the Matzilah Chaim application, formulated by the RCE in conjunction with Zaka and “Yisraelife”-United Hatzalah.

Over the course of the days of the Conference, Motti Goldstein, head-coordinator of Magen-Zaka, and Dovi Meisel, deputy director of “Yisraelife”-United Hatzalah, provided this basic training to the Rabbanim, who lead Jewish communities throughout the world, so that each of them would be able to respond to any emergency situation in his hometown.

When presenting the system for setting up a community emergency team as well as an emergency response team (this system too was developed by the RCE, in conjunction with Zaka and “Yisraelife”-United Hatzalah), a number of those in attendance participated in a drill demonstrating the procedures. One participant, who had the application installed on his phone, sent out an emergency call, which signaled immediately on the phones of all the other participants, giving the precise location of the person who sent out the call. Zaka’s Motti Goldstein rushed over to the person who was in distress, and at the same time the international centre made phone contact with the person who had sent out the call.

This program was in response to many requests the RCE received from community Rabbanim throughout the world, who expressed their concerns that the Rabbanim don’t know how to react practically and helpfully in emergency situations or when disaster strikes. This can lead to a crisis for their communities and the institutions therein. This lack of knowledge can also place their communities in physical danger, if there is an attack against the residents or schools, shuls, community centers, day-care centers or other targets.

There was also the concern that, beyond any possible physical danger, community leaders must also deal with the fallout from anti-Semitic acts as they affect community resilience and morale, and with the potential loss of faith in their community leaders, if there would be a lack of preparedness on the leaders’ part in the event of a crisis. Rabbanim also need to know how to facilitate a community’s recovery from such trauma and return to normal routine.

Harav Menachem Margolin, director of the EJA and the organizer of this program, pointed out that, “unfortunately, most of Europe’s Jewish institutions still do not have sufficient government protection. Therefore, we have decided on our own to equip our Rabbanim and Jewish community leaders throughout the continent with the knowledge and basic tools they will need to become first-responders when the need arises to provide assistance in crisis situations and to defend themselves.”

Following these very practical presentations, many community Rabbanim participating in the Conference approached RCE Deputy Director Harav Aryeh Goldberg with requests to send people to their communities to train emergency teams there. They thanked Rav Goldberg for the Conference’s well-prepared program, which included both halachic content and tools for responding to terror in Europe.

Prague’s Hotel King David, which hosted the Conference, is under the kashrus supervision of the hotel’s Rav, Harav Eliyahu Rotenberg, shlita, who, together with the mashgiach Harav Shneur Krishevsky, works tirelessly to maintain the highest standards of kashrus in the hotel.