Hatzalah

thumb|A Hatzalah ambulance in the Crown Heights, Brooklyn|Crown Heights neighborhood of [[Brooklyn in New York City]] thumb|A Hatzolah aircraft Hatzalah, also spelled Hatzolah or Hatzola (; , ), is the title used by many Jewish volunteer emergency medical service (EMS) organizations serving mostly areas with Jewish communities around the world. Most local branches operate independently of each other, but use the common name. It is also often called Chevra Hatzalah, which loosely translates as "Group of Rescuers".

== History == The original Hatzalah emergency medical services (EMS) was founded in Williamsburg, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, by Hershel Weber in the late 1960s. His aim was to improve rapid emergency medical response in the community, and to mitigate cultural concerns of a Yiddish-speaking, Hasidic community. The idea spread to other Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in the New York City area, and eventually to other regions, countries, and continents. Hatzalah is believed to be the largest volunteer ambulance service in the world. Chevra Hatzalah in New York has more than a thousand volunteer emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics who answer more than 70,000 calls each year with private vehicles and a fleet of more than 90 ambulances.