Learning CPR is So Important Even the Knesset Is Getting Into It

It is one of the most important things that a person can learn and hope that they never use it. CPR, the Heimlich Maneuver, and other basic life-saving procedures can and do save lives when people need them the most. From the upper echelons of society to the person on the street these are skills that everyone should know. That message has gotten through to members of the Knesset Worker’s Committee who organized, in conjunction with United Hatzalah, the Knesset’s first course in basic life-saving skills for the workers of the nation’s top governmental building.

United Hatzalah paramedic Itzik Chachmon instructing Knesset workers in basic life-saving procedures

The course which is called Mishpacha Betucha (Safe Family) is aimed at teaching participants the basic life-saving procedures to undertake in the case of an emergency in the first few moments before other help can arrive. The course was taught by Paramedic Itzik Chachmon and gave instructions as to how to properly administer CPR, how to treat choking victims and other examples of first-aid procedures to undertake before an EMS or ambulance team can arrive.

Within the framework of the Mishpacha Betucha courses, EMS trainers teach the wider public these basic procedures as part of a four-hour-long course. The courses are generally aimed at parents and educators in an effort to better equip them with the tools necessary to save a life during an emergency.

Knesset workers train in CPR and other life-saving procedures last week

“Our hope is to have at least one person in each household or classroom who knows how to administer basic CPR and life-saving treatment so that we as a nation are better prepared for emergencies when they arrive. Having one or both parents take the course has proven to save lives within a family that has a crisis numerous times,” said Eli Beer President and Founder of United Hatzalah. “We aim to save lives and we thank the Knesset for hosting the course for its workers to help spread this knowledge which is so vital when emergencies happen,” he concluded.

To find out more about the Mishpacha Betucha project, or to get information on how to take a course, please click here: