Moshe Frenkel () was a founder of

Magen David Adom The Magen David Adom (, abbr. MDA, pronounced ''MAH-dah'' per its Hebrew acronym, ) is Israel's national emergency medicine, emergency medical, Emergency management, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. The literal meaning of the name is ...

, one of the founders and organizers of the

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

neighborhood of Neve Shaanan and the head of Tel Aviv municipality's tax division in its formative years in the early 20th century. Later in life he served as the chief

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of Magen David Adom.

Biography

Moshe Frenkel was born in 1897 in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). When Jewish refugees from the Land of Israel, in particular from

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

arrived in Odesa during the

first world war World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Frenkel was one of the heads of the local organization that assisted Jewish refugees. Frenkel along with his companions organized the return voyage of the refugees to the land of Israel. He and several other hundred local Jews joined the refugees on their voyage home on the

SS Ruslan ''Ruslan'' (in archaic Russian spelling: Русланъ; in today's accepted spelling: Руслан) which bore the name of the Russian hero Ruslan from Pushkin's poem '' Ruslan and Ludmila'' was the first officially organized ship that sailed fr ...

. In 1921 he married Esther Perman. During his time in Tel Aviv he founded two synagogues In 1922 he was one of the founders of the Neve Shaanan neighborhood in Tel Aviv. In 1926 he was the head of Tel Aviv's

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

division. In 1930, he was the right hand man of Moshe Levontin in founding Magen David Adom, the paramedic rescue organization. Frenkel went on to found the first state wide branch of Magen David Adom. Later in life he served as the chief accountant of Magen David Adom. During the

second world war World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Frenkel was a director in the passive defense organization of Tel Aviv.

References

{{Authority control 20th-century Israeli people 20th-century Ukrainian Jews 1897 births 20th-century Ukrainian people 20th-century Israeli Jews Year of death missing