More than 1,200 volunteers of ZAKA Search & Rescue gathered Monday evening at the Avenue Conference Center near Ben Gurion Airport to mark Zayin Adar, the traditional date associated with the birth and passing of Moshe Rabbeinu, and to honor their shared mission of Kavod Hameis.

The annual event brought together volunteers from across Israel — from northern border communities to Eilat, from the Mediterranean coast through Yehuda and Shomron — representing the full spectrum of Israeli society. Participants included Jews from Chareidi to Chiloni communities, Ashkenazi and Sefardi backgrounds, as well as Druze, Christian, Baha’i and Muslim volunteers who serve their communities through ZAKA’s culturally sensitive units.

Representatives of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, the chief rabbis of the police and the military, and leading operational partners of ZAKA also participated in the gathering, underscoring the close cooperation between rabbinic authorities, security services and emergency response agencies in carrying out the organization’s mission.

Zayin Adar has long been observed by Jewish burial societies as a day of reflection on the sacred responsibility of caring for the deceased. Jewish tradition teaches that Moshe Rabbeinu’s passing was attended to with ultimate dignity, underscoring the holiness inherent in Chesed Shel Emet. For ZAKA volunteers, whose work centers on Kavod Hameit, the gathering serves as both spiritual reflection and recognition of year-round operational service in Israel and abroad.

“ZAKA’s responsibility is to the deceased and to the families who depend on us for certainty and dignity,” said ZAKA CEO Dubi Weissenstern. “Our volunteers respond at all hours, in every corner of the country, ensuring that every individual is treated with respect and that families can lay their loved ones to rest with clarity and honor.”

Throughout the evening, volunteers were recognized for their ongoing commitment to emergency response, victim identification, search and rescue operations and culturally sensitive burial services.

“Our volunteers dedicate countless hours to intensive training and operational readiness,” said ZAKA Chief of Operations Chaim Weingarten. “At every incident — whether a traffic accident, terror attack or complex recovery — they act with professionalism, precision and deep respect for the sacred nature of this work.”

In addition to domestic operations, ZAKA maintains international partnerships and deploys abroad when requested by authorities during disasters and mass casualty events.

“In moments of tragedy, families are searching for answers and reassurance that their loved ones are being treated with care,” said ZAKA’s U.S. Executive Director, Moshe Rozenberg, who participated in the gathering. “ZAKA’s mission is to stand beside families and authorities, ensuring that dignity, compassion and closure remain at the center of every response.” 

Founded to honor the dead in accordance with religious tradition, ZAKA has evolved into a full-scale emergency response network, with over 4,000 trained volunteers operating 24/7 across Israel to honor the dead, aid the living and bring dignity in times of devastation. Today, it operates a wide range of units – from rapid medical response and search and rescue to water recovery to culturally sensitive burial teams serving Israel’s Jewish, Bedouin, Arab and Druze communities to international units deploying at a moment’s notice to crises across the globe. For more information, visit: https://zakaworld.org/.