ZAKA Search & Rescue Continues U.S. Law Enforcement Training On Respect For The Deceased, Launches First Responder Mental Health Partnership

The program was led by ZAKA North Executive Director Moshe Rozenberg, ZAKA Search & Rescue Commander Simcha Greiniman and ZAKA Search & Rescue Chief Medical Psychologist and Head of Resilience Dr. Vered Atzmon Meshulam.

Attendees heard directly from ZAKA leaders about Jewish laws and customs that govern the treatment of the deceased, including the religious imperative for rapid burial, respectful handling of human remains and close coordination with Jewish communities during times of crisis. The session aimed to equip law enforcement agencies with practical tools to better understand the traditions of Jewish victims of fatalities, violent crimes, disasters and mass casualty incidents in their jurisdictions.

“The relationship between ZAKA, the National Sheriffs’ Association and each of the departments that we engage with are extraordinarily important both for the broader Jewish community,” said ZAKA North Executive Director Moshe Rozenberg. “Every sheriff who better understands Jewish traditions surrounding death and burial is better equipped to serve Jewish families during their most difficult moments. At the same time, these partnerships create trusted relationships with departments across the United States, ensuring that when communities need assistance, expertise or guidance, ZAKA Search & Rescue can help. Whether that support comes over the phone, through training or in person, our goal is to strengthen preparedness, dignity and service for everyone involved.”

In addition to the program, ZAKA Search & Rescue and the National Sheriffs’ Association began a working partnership focused on first responder mental health and resilience. The initiative will bring together public safety professionals from the United States and Israel to share best practices, learn from one another’s experiences and develop training frameworks to better support responders facing trauma, burnout and the cumulative impact of repeated exposure to critical incidents.

“Sheriffs and public safety leaders face many of the same challenges our responders face in Israel,” said Chief Medical Psychologist and Head of Resilience Dr. Vered Atzmon Meshulam. “Whether responding to violent crime, natural disasters, terror attacks or mass casualty incidents, the responsibility extends far beyond the scene itself. Through this partnership, we are not only sharing Jewish customs surrounding dignity for the deceased, but also learning from one another and working together to strengthen responder resilience, preparedness and community trust.”

The program provided sheriffs with practical knowledge about Jewish customs surrounding death, including the importance of timely burial, coordination with clergy and faith leaders, the prohibition on unnecessary autopsies in many circumstances and methods for working effectively with Jewish families and communities during periods of grief.

The growing relationship between ZAKA Search & Rescue Executive and the National Sheriffs’ Association has already expanded beyond educational programming into operational collaboration, emergency preparedness and responder wellness initiatives. Leaders from both organizations emphasized that the exchange of knowledge benefits communities on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We are deeply grateful for the special relationship we have built with the National Sheriffs’ Association and for the partnerships ZAKA North has developed with sheriffs and their departments across the United States,” said ZAKA Search & Rescue CEO Dubi Weissenstern. “These relationships are far more than professional connections. They are partnerships rooted in a shared commitment to serving families during their most difficult moments with dignity, compassion and respect. Together with our friends and supporters across the United States, they help empower the sacred work performed by ZAKA’s volunteers 24 hours a day, seven days a week across North America, Israel and around the world. We are grateful to the National Sheriffs’ Association, to ZAKA North and to every volunteer, supporter and partner who makes this work possible.”

For many attendees, the session represented more than a cultural competency program. It served as an opportunity to exchange ideas with Israeli emergency response leaders who have extensive experience responding to mass casualty incidents, disasters and acts of terrorism while preserving dignity for victims and supporting families through unimaginable loss.

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/.