'One Heart' in action: How volunteers are helping Israelis recover from Iranian missile attacks

In this interview with Christian journalist Paul Calvert, Tomer Dror of the organization One Heart (Lev Echad) describes how Israel’s largest volunteer emergency response network is helping communities recover after Iranian missile attacks – even as the nation marks the Purim holiday.

Founded more than two decades ago, One Heart began as a grassroots effort to assist Israelis displaced from Gush Katif and other Gaza settlements. Dror explained that what started as a small initiative among young volunteers has grown into a nationwide civil aid network.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in southern Israel, One Heart's mission has been focused entirely on helping communities within Israel, mobilizing more than 100,000 volunteers.

Now, with the U.S.–Israeli war against Iran that began on Feb. 28, under Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion, One Heart is stepping in to help communities affected by the fighting. On Monday afternoon, an Iranian ballistic missile struck the area of Beersheva in southern Israel, injuring 19 people.

Speaking from Beersheva, Dror described the scene: “The windows are broken. The door went out. So there are a lot of damages in the houses here. And the volunteers are going into those houses together with the people that are living here, helping them, restoring their house so they can be able to go back and live at their home as soon as possible.”

He said that in places like Bet Shemesh and Tel Aviv, where Iranian missiles struck, resulting in nine fatalities, volunteers entered damaged homes to salvage family photo albums, children’s toys, and other belongings, rescuing them alongside the families so they would have something to remember their old homes.

Despite the devastation, Dror emphasized the spirit he sees among young Israeli volunteers who keep returning to help. “It fills us with strength and hope for the future, to see those volunteers and to see the Israeli resilience and the mutual responsibility of our youth coming over and over and over again, whenever they are needed.”

During the interview, Dror reflected on the timing of Operation Roaring Lion taking place during the Purim holiday, when Jewish communities remember the story of Esther and the deliverance of the Jewish people from destruction in ancient Persia.

Dror said the conflict’s timing resonates deeply with Israelis: “There is no coincidence in the world.” Calling the moment historic, he urged citizens to work toward a stronger state and future: “This is the time we should live in … to continue and do whatever is needed to build a better world and a better state.”

Even amid missile attacks, he emphasized, the Jewish spirit endures: “Not even rockets can kill the Jewish spirit and the spirit of these young volunteers here today.”

“The spirit of volunteerism, of Israeli society, you really can't get used to it. But really, Israel is 'one heart.'”

Click below to listen to Paul Calvert's full interview with Tomer Dror of "One Heart."