By 5TJT Staff
David Cohen, the CEO of Chevra Hatzalah, resigned on Sunday afternoon, in a communication with the Executive Board of Hatzalah. The resignation was a result of allegations of Mr. Cohen’s involvement with recent scandals at Met Council, where Mr. Cohen served both as an advisor and as the former Chief Executive Officer prior to Mr. Rapfogel.
It has been conjectured that Mr. Cohen was one of the two co-conspirators whose identities were not disclosed in a complaint filed by Gerard Matheson, an investigator for the NYS office of the Attorney General. Apparently, Met Council also terminated its relationship with Mr. Cohen at the same time that Mr. Rapfogel was terminated.
In the meantime, the Executive Board of Hatzolah is seeking a replacement for the position of CEO.  This is the second time that Hatzolah has either replaced or had reason to replace its CEO in recent years. The previous CEO, was Michael Hersh.
The executive Board further established a committee to deal with the daily operation of the Hatzolah organization until a suitable replacement can be found.
Hatzolah has been an organization that has been of enormous help and value to the Jewish community and beyond. A request has been made that members of the public, the Jewish media, and people close to Hatzolah not contact the central office in regard to this matter at the present time.  It is hoped that this request will be respected so that Hatzolah will not be overwhelmed with the tasks at hand.
