Teen Surfer Used New Board to Save Drowning Man in Ashdod, Then Met Him After Hospital Discharge

Two days ago on an Ashdod beach, Jonathan Derעי was there to pick up his sister when he noticed Khalil in trouble in the water and being pulled away by the current. Without hesitation, Derעי ran to fetch the new surfboard his sister had bought, entered the sea, reached the drowning man, steadied him, and kept him above water until they got back to shore.

During the rescue, Jonathan called his father, Rabbi Avi Derעי, who was then in a professional meeting in Ashdod with police command. Rabbi Derעי immediately alerted emergency and rescue forces, who waited on the beach and then transferred Khalil, in serious condition, to the hospital.

The following day, after being discharged, Khalil, who lives in the Bedouin diaspora, asked to come personally to the Derעי family home to thank Rabbi Avi Derעי and Jonathan. In the emotional meeting, he thanked them for the quick thinking, speed, and determination that, as he put it, saved his life.

Jonathan said that the moment he saw Khalil in distress, he knew he had to act quickly. “I ran to get the board that was on the beach and went into the water,” he said, adding, “Thank God we reached him in time and the incident ended safely.” Avi Derעי, commander of ZAKA’s Lachish region, said it was deeply moving to see Khalil arrive “healthy and whole” to express his thanks, calling lifesaving “the greatest merit.”