Jewish National Fund – Shabbat Services

Celebrate Tu B’Shvat with the Israel Action Committee.  Through a partnership with JNF, Boaz Rakia, an Israeli firefighter involved in fighting the Carmel Forest fires will speak from the Bima and be available at Kiddush to answer questions. Boaz Rakia serves as Fire Chief of Givataiim.  He began his career as a firefighter at age 15, when he participated in the fire scouts volunteer program.  After his first year, he requested to continue volunteering and when he finished his army service he became a full-time firefighter.   Boaz has held every possible position in the fire department, including firefighter, officer, spokesperson, fire investigator, fire prevention inspector, and HAZMAT officer. Throughout his years of service, he has been part of the response effort for many events and emergencies, the most well-known of which are the 2001 Versailles wedding hall disaster in Jerusalem, the Hilton Taba terror attack in 2004 and the Carmel Forest Fire of 2010.  Boaz earned an MA from Haifa University in Internal Security Studies. He served in the IDF from 1988-1991, where he managed the general distress hot-line for soldiers. He lives with his wife Eti and their three children in Givataiim.