Specialized Israeli group joins Texas Hill Country flood recovery efforts

KERRVILLE, Texas – Since the devastating July 4 floods, Texas has received support from across the U.S. and Mexico. Recently, a group from Israel also joined the recovery effort.

Marnix Van Ede, director of international relations with ZAKA Search and Rescue, was 7,000 miles away when he heard about the deadly flooding in the Hill Country.

“We saw it all unfolding on television back in Israel,” Van Ede said.

Van Ede said fellow members knew they had to come to Texas to help.

ZAKA is an Israeli emergency response organization with 4,000 volunteers. For the last 30 years, they have traveled internationally to aid victims in disaster areas.

A team from ZAKA Search and Rescue worked with Texas A&M Task Force 1 during recovery efforts after devastating flooding in Kerr County. (ZAKA Search and Rescue)

Nachman Dyksztejn and his wife, Valerie, are also members of ZAKA.

“We could not stay home and see our brothers and sisters suffering here in America,” said Nachman Dyksztejn, international commander of ZAKA Search and Rescue.

ZAKA spent about two weeks in the Hill Country working with Texas A&M Task Force 1 to search for flood victims. Nachman Dyksztejn told TheTXLoop the mission is personal.

“In Judaism, the most important thing is, after the person dies, to bury him as soon as possible and to give back his body to God … [it’s also important to] honor the family, and give back what [you] can,” Nachman Dyksztejn said.

ZAKA Search and Rescue surveying damage from the July 4 flooding in the Texas Hill Country. (ZAKA Search and Rescue)

One of the group’s biggest contributions during this mission was an AI-based model, developed by an Israeli professor, that maps areas where missing victims are most likely to be.

“[It’s an algorithm] … and this algorithm shows the dynamic flow and the velocity [of the floodwaters] … we can trace the possible location of the victim,” Valerie Dyksztejn said.

It is unclear how many flood victims ZAKA helped recover.

However, as the Dyksztejns and Van Ede prepare to return to Israel, they said they will always cherish Texans and the rest of the U.S.

“The local people are so amazing,” Valerie Dyksztejn said.

“The American people, like you say to us, ‘you’re not alone.’ Well, you’re also not alone,” Nachman Dyksztejn said. “We are with you. If we can help you with anything, we’ll be there.”

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