Man Collapses in Synagogue, Revived After Cardiac Arrest by Paramedics

A 62 year old man collapsed during morning prayers at a synagogue in Kiryat Malachi on Monday and went into cardiac arrest. Emergency teams performed CPR at the scene, restored his pulse using a defibrillator, and evacuated him to Assuta Hospital in Ashdod in stable condition and fully conscious.

The incident occurred inside a synagogue on Nachalat Har Chabad Street. Worshippers who saw the man collapse immediately called for help. Paramedic teams from Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah arrived at the scene and found him unconscious, pulseless, and not breathing.

Magen David Adom motorcycle unit paramedic Tzvi Zilberman said his team was already nearby when the alert came in. “We received a report of a man who had collapsed in a synagogue. We were nearby, and as the call came in through the MDA dispatch center, I also received an additional alert through the Magen David Adom app about a man in cardiac arrest,” Zilberman said. “I ran into the synagogue and saw the man lying unconscious, with no pulse and no breathing. I immediately began CPR together with the other MDA teams that arrived at the scene.”

Zilberman and fellow paramedic Efek Zarbiv said that after the defibrillator shock was administered, the patient’s condition improved. “Following the electric shock from the defibrillator, his heart began beating again. We transferred the patient to the intensive care ambulance and evacuated him to the hospital while he was in good condition and fully conscious.”

United Hatzalah volunteers Shneur Rabinowitz, Alandiv Tam, and Shmuel Galinsky were also among the first responders. “When we arrived as the first responders at the scene, we began CPR and delivered an electric shock using the United Hatzalah defibrillator,” they said. “Miraculously, his heart resumed beating and he regained full consciousness. He was evacuated to the hospital in stable condition.”