June 12, 2014 Hasidic EMS treating Jehovah’s Witness
Since I wrote about the church in Kiryas Joel yesterday, a number of people shared with me their memories of the time when the peaceful, insular world of Kiryas Joel was overwhelmed by the mass influx of Jehovah’s Witnesses who came to the church on Mountain Road. It was an unforgettable sight when the buses poured in and the Hasidim went about their way.
One particular anecdote I heard was so ironic, I had to share it (with permission, of course.) A Hasid and Kiryas Joel resident who was on the Hatzalah/EMS force responded to a 911 call. A woman had collapsed at the Jehovah’s Witnesses church. The first responder and two other Hasidic EMS members, in the full Hasidic regalia down to the tsitsit, had to find their way through throngs of worshippers inside the building to get to the patient. When the three Hasidic Hatzalah members left the church with the patient, they got a standing ovation!
A clash of the world like that – it’s incredible.