It was 1989, and in the wake of the Tel Aviv Jerusalem Bus 405 attack, a group of religious volunteers helped retrieve the remains of the victims for proper burial. Six years later, the organization ZAKA was formally formed. Following terrible situations of terror, accidents, and disasters, ZAKA volunteers collect the remains, blood, and any other human parts so that they can be buried with the victim or sometimes collectively, in accordance with Jewish burial laws. 

In the 90s, as mass disasters continued to occur in Israel, there was a recognition that remains needed to be collected by specially trained personnel. Today, ZAKA handles more than 10,000 emergencies annually and works across 42 international teams. Nearly 4,000 volunteers respond to accidents and disasters and are nearly always prepared to immediately depart wherever duty calls them to. Following the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018, this was the team that retrieved remains left inside the synagogue. Recently, when ZAKA heard of the vehicle ramming in Michigan, the team was already en route to the airport when they got word that the incident was over and the injuries were limited to security professionals who were already being cared for. In the US, the nearest team to Oregon is in LA, and within minutes of that team being requested or hearing of a major incident, they would be headed our way.

ZAKA representatives recently visited Portland, and I toured them around town to meet critical law enforcement partners. The goal of the effort was to introduce law enforcement partners to the organization and the potential needs. We started the day meeting with Portland Police Bureau – the Deputy Chief, the head of their Intel Unit (who serves as my primary PPB contact), and Chief Day’s Chief of Staff. ZAKA explained Jewish burial laws, talked about their capabilities and how they work with law enforcement on scenes or following accidents. We moved on to visit with the Beaverton Police Department and closed out the day at the FBI’s Portland Field Office. As one would hope and expect, every office was incredibly welcoming, eager to hear about how they would work together and completely receptive to the collaboration, if needed.

One of the experiences they talked about during their visit was their work following the Oct. 7 attack. During this effort, ZAKA recognized the need for a unit dedicated to emotional support for its volunteers. Their work there was so intense, so overwhelming. It became clear the emotional toll was deeply affecting the workers. Some of the practices they developed were on-scene crisis response, long-term therapy, family support, and resilience training. For example, at major scenes now, ZAKA supports its members by having on-scene counseling. When volunteers are struggling, they are pulled from the scene and immediately meet with a counselor. These changes are creating an important support net for volunteers; it helps retain them as active volunteers, improve their family life, and build strength to continue the work.

Police work in the U.S. carries with it some of the highest rates of suicide, and police force leadership is recognizing that emotional support for officers is a critical effort they need to address. Every department we visited that day was interested in learning more about what ZAKA had developed and how they could learn more and apply learnings to their departments. It was a great unintended outcome of the meetings.

If you want to learn more about ZAKA or support their work, check out their website at zakaworld.org.