An Israeli ZAKA emergency response team. The organization received official consultative status from the United Nations after attempting to secure that designation for three years. Photo: Dano Mantkovich.

JNS.org – The Israeli emergency response organization ZAKA has received official consultative status from the United Nations after attempting to secure that designation for three years. The status means that ZAKA will now be recognized as an official body in the UN, which gives it the right to participate in official UN discussions.

The UN’s NGO Committee meets twice per year to approve the list of organizations that receive consultative status. Countries that are hostile to Israel, such as Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, Pakistan, and others, are members of the committee that decides on recipients of the status. Last tear, the Palestinian Return Center advocacy organization received the designation, but ZAKA did not.

With the assistance of diplomatic efforts by Israel’s UN delegation and US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, ZAKA finally received the votes needed to obtain the status.

“ZAKA is a moral and ethical organization, and its acceptance by the UN is a natural result of its activities around the world,” said Yehuda Meshi Zahav, ZAKA’s founder and director, Israel National News reported.

He added, “Today, ZAKA works in a large number of country to save lives and ensure the dignity of disaster victims. Its acceptance by consensus is a joint product of a diplomatic effort with the [Israeli] UN delegation, under the leadership of Ambassador [Danny] Danon.”

“I congratulate the members of the Foreign Ministry and our staff at the UN embassy, led by Danny Danon, for their success in securing UN advisory status for the ZAKA organization,” said Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, Ma’ariv reported.