Thousands of American doctors volunteer to help Israeli victims — but have yet to get the call

‘Everyone wants to come’

Yigal Marcus’ dining room in Hashmonaim, Israel, has been converted to a command center for processing volunteer forms. Courtesy of Yigal Marcus

By Louis Keene October 11, 2023

Yigal Marcus was just trying to recruit a few doctors — his two brothers who live in the United States — to volunteer in Israel in case the country faced a physician shortage. But his wife overheard him, and texted a friend, who texted her siblings, and soon Marcus’ phone was blowing up.

In the next 48 hours, more than 5,000 medical personnel from more than 40 countries around the world committed themselves to the cause. Now Marcus, an American businessman who lives in the Israeli town of Hashmonaim, has involved his kids and their friends in helping organize their responses.

“Everyone wants to come,” Marcus, 48, said. “Literally, ‘I’m ready to go’ — ready to get a flight tonight.”

Marcus, who sits on the board of trustees of Hadassah International, the fundraising arm of an organization that runs one of Israel’s largest medical systems, said that Hadassah had informed him that so far no medical volunteers were needed. He said he has also been in touch with the country’s Ministry of Health, who has had them stand by.

“In the event of a serious escalation, which I think unfortunately, people are expecting, this system may very well be overwhelmed,” Marcus said, adding that while hospitals are fully staffed, there may be a backlog in treating the regular population that volunteers may be able to fill.

“We’re telling people: Be patient,” he said.

‘Our calling’

Marcus made aliyah from Teaneck, New Jersey, in 2016, to run the Israeli office of AllianceBernstein, an investment firm.

He said in Hashmonaim, a West Bank settlement of about 2,500 people, the atmosphere is one of “eerie silence and nervousness.” None of his three kids is in the IDF — his eldest daughter recently completed non-military national service — but he said he has several friends whose children have been deployed to Gaza.

As he waits for his volunteer list to be of use, he has joined the ranks of other volunteers making supply kits of food, clothing and toiletries to send to bases.

“We are a people who chesed is our calling,” Marcus said, using the Hebrew word for kindness. “And we’re rising to the occasion.”

Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. His work has also been published in The New York Times, New York magazine and Vice. He is based in Los Angeles.

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