Irving Carter, 76, British philanthropist who funded emergency medical services in Israel
Irving Carter, right, at a 2018 Magen David Adom UK dinner with Mark Regev, Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. Image by Courtesy of Magen David Adom UK
(JTA) — If there was one institution with whom Irving Carter was most closely associated, it was Magen David Adom, the Israeli affiliate of the Red Cross.
The vice president of MDA’s British fundraising arm, Carter’s donations over three decades funded the procurement of dozens of ambulances, 12 bikes, two mobile blood banks and a mobile intensive care unit for Israel’s emergency services. Ambulances serving Jerusalem’s Old City bear his name and that of his widow, Gillian. A recently opened MDA station near Haifa is dedicated to his grandson, Jack Segal.
Carter died on April 3 of the coronavirus. He was 76.
MDA “lost one of its greatest friends,” the group said in a statement, describing Carter as a man who “was responsible for saving hundreds of thousands of lives in Israel through his generosity.”
“I am lucky enough to be able to do whatever I can to enable them to save lives,” Carter once said. “It is a privilege for me to be able to give to them.”
Tributes to one of the British Jewish community’s most generous yet understated philanthropists have flowed in recent days from the organizations he supported.
ALEH, an Israeli charity working with disabled children, said Carter was “a kind and gentle soul who cared deeply for our children.” His “giving heart was matched by an unparalleled generosity of spirit.”
In November 2018, Irving and Gillian opened the Sylvia Carter Medical Center for children with severe and complex disabilities at ALEH’s rehabilitation clinic in Gedera.
Paul Anticoni, CEO of World Jewish Relief, said his organization “mourned the loss of Irving Carter whose kindness, humility and philanthropy changed the lives of thousands of our clients.”
The Odessa-based rescue aid organization Tikva said Carter was “a larger than life ‘mensch’ who lived to give and who was always the first to offer assistance with an open hand, a huge heart and a warm smile.”
The post Irving Carter, 76, British philanthropist who funded emergency medical services in Israel for 30 years appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
