“The idea for a mobile clinic came from an urgent and painful need,” says Lena Shtern, chairman of the Yuri Stern Holistic Center. “On a tour that took place at the Gaza border about a year ago, we saw that we couldn’t express words with our own eyes: people who had experienced unnamed trauma, people who needed support beyond words.
The mobile units already in operation will move between the Gaza border, north of Israel, and communities where displaced people are located. At each stop, volunteers set up a temporary treatment complex that offered 40-50 free holistic treatments – directional, reflexology, acupuncture, other methods for stress relief and trauma treatment.
A pivotal moment in the establishment of the project was a meeting with Amit’s mother, Rachel Mann. “When I met Rachel, I met a quiet hero,” Shen says with sparkling eyes. “She lay on our treatment bed and saw how Touch had reverted the colour to her face. At that moment I knew – the mobile unit had to bear Amit’s name.
“Amit was to give it all,” Rachel said when explaining her daughter, “She chose to stay at be’eri to treat the injured.
The day before the massacre, Amit visited his mother at Netibot. During the meeting, Rachel never asked her daughter to cancel her shift, and she felt an inexplicable moment, a mysterious inner emotion, and asked her not to return to Kibutz.
Finally, as Amit was standing in the elevator on his way out of the building, her mother suddenly called out to her, giving her a long embrace, telling her everything she has accomplished in her short life – as if she knew it was the last time she would see her daughter. ”
Amit’s younger sister Mary stands next to a blue mobile vehicle holding her sister’s name in white letters. “My sister dedicated her life to seeing others,” she said, laughing with a smile. “Already 15, she started volunteering at Magen David Adom. This mobile unit is a direct continuation of her path. Everyone who receives a healing touch receives something from her.
Amit arrived at Kibbutzberg following a special invitation. A year and a half before the murder Hamas attack, on-call paramedic status was available in Kibbutz.
Senior Medic Abya (Abuya) Hatzeroni, who was murdered on October 7th, insisted that no one was more appropriate than her. He had known her since she was 14, and began volunteering at Magen David Adom, and was like her grandfather. At Be’eri, Amit was a thriving, supportive and loving community.
In her final hours, Amit showed unparalleled courage and professionalism. At 7am when the sirens began, her partner off asked her to come with him for the netibot, but she refused.
For hours, while terrorists surrounded the clinic, she treated the injured, called Magan David Adoum, desperate to get help, and maintained an exemplary calm. Even when the defender at the clinic entrance ran out of ammunition, even after she was injured in a shooting herself, she continued to care for the injured and communicated with her family.
Yair Avital, one of the injured who was treated by Amit and survived that horrible day, said he continued to encourage him when he needed an operating room and blood transfusion when he couldn’t do anything medically after recovery.
As he lay on the floor, she placed a helmet under his head to make him more comfortable, gave him water and took care of him. “In the darkest possible place,” he testified, “she remained true to herself until the last moment.”
The band “Knesiyat Hasekhel” (from Hebrew: “Mindchurch”) – members are Sedro residents and add a touch of music to the ceremony. The president’s wife, Mikal Herzog, also sent her warm wishes to the Mann family and the Yuri Shen Holistic Centre.
“The overall mobile unit complements, not psychological or treatment,” explains Lena Shtern. “We provide a moment of salvation for the body. Sometimes, after trauma, people are separated from their bodies. The touch brings them back and reminds them that they are here, that they are safe.”
Professor Haggai Levin, chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians and a volunteer physician on the hostage staff, said, “What did we learn from Amit Mann? We learned that even if our bodies and souls are not connected, we can’t ring the bells and ring them. Light.”
The Yuri Shtern Holistic Center is nothing new to Israel’s therapeutic landscape. It was founded in 2007 in commemoration of Dr. Yuri Stan, a member of Knesset who died of cancer. The centre was founded on the initiative of his widow, Lena Stan, family and friends, and has since its inception treated, accompanied and supported tens of thousands of people dealing with cancer. ”
Due to this rich experience and the urgency of the current situation, in September 2024, the Center began operating the “Recovery Gate” project. This is split into two complementary tracks. The city of Sderot city’s permanent clinic operates twice a week in a partnership with the Sderot Resilience Center and offers subsidized touch therapy to local residents. And then there was the Holistic Mobile Unit project to commemorate Amit Mann. Volunteers go to various parts of the country to treat victims of the war. ”
“We are working with resilience centres and welfare organizations in the South and North,” concludes Shern. “And this is a personal invitation from me. We reach those who need us. Amit’s value and dedication is a guide for us in this project.
