Sakhnin residents raise funds to install defibrillators in city mosques

A half dozen defibrillators were installed Friday in mosques in the northern city of Sakhnin — the first city in Israel to have the life-saving devices in the community.

The project to provide the automated external defibrillators was spearheaded by two local brothers, who both work as Magen David Adom paramedics in the lower Galilee.

Defibrillators can be easily used by non-medical professionals to treat sudden cardiac arrest, and greatly improve a patient’s chance of survival.

Several months ago, Muhammad and Walid Shalata turned to Sakhnin municipal authorities and local clerics and raised the importance of having the resuscitation devices at the city’s mosques, which are open 24 hours a day.

In a short time, the Shalata brothers managed to raise the amount needed from Sakhnin residents to buy six defibrillators.

On Friday, the Shatalas joined Sakhnin’s Deputy Mayor Muhammad Zubeidat, Imam Alaa Badarne, and other MDA officials unveiling one of the devices at a local mosque.

Magen David Adom director Eli Bin praised both the Shalata brothers for their efforts and the local residents for their enthusiasm for the unprecedented project.

“I welcome this special and important project aimed at saving lives by providing defibrillator devices to local residents by placing them in mosques deployed in the city’s neighborhoods,” Bin said in a statement.

The devices were unveiled on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, where a complete fast with no food or water from dawn to dusk can be taxing for patients with heart diseases.