At the Jerusalem Post Miami Summit on Sunday, amid discussions of resilience, service, and post-October 7 recovery, one voice cut through with quiet moral authority: Simcha Greiniman, commander in ZAKA and a volunteer of more than three decades. Greiniman, who served 33 years with ZAKA and 28 years in the IDF, addressed the audience not as a policymaker or fundraiser, but as someone who has spent a lifetime confronting the human cost of terror, war, and disaster.
Since October 7, he commanded 18 consecutive weeks of ZAKA field operations in southern Israel, overseeing some of the most harrowing recovery efforts in the organization’s history. “The work of ZAKA begins with humanity,” Greiniman said, describing the organization’s mission to care for “every drop of blood – Jews and non-Jews alike – around the world.” He noted that ZAKA’s role is not only logistical, but deeply ethical: ensuring dignity in death, proper burial, and compassion for families now when grief is most unbearable.
Greiniman explained that this responsibility does not end at Israel’s borders, recounting being called to respond to a terror attack in Australia, boarding a plane within hours of landing back in Israel from Washington. “In Israel, after four hours, highways are cleared and life resumes,” he said. “There, days later, bodies were still in the field.” ZAKA’s intervention, he noted, ensured that remains were recovered and buried according to Jewish law, providing families with a measure of closure amid chaos.
Greiniman’s closing remarks reframed the evening around a single value: service. “Serving means giving of yourself to your fellow human being,” he said. “The highest level of tikkun olam begins with caring for each other.” In a conference dedicated to Israel’s challenges and strength, Greiniman’s words served as a reminder that national resilience is built not only on the battlefield, but in the unwavering commitment to human dignity – even, and especially, in the darkest moments.
Written in collaboration with ZAKA