from its inception in 1930 until 2006, the magen david adom organization, the israeli equivalent to the red cross, was not accepted as part of the federation, as it used the star of david, which the icrc refused to recognize as an acceptable symbol. this meant that although arab ambulances would be protected by the icrc, israeli ambulances would not. in may 2000, bernadine healy, the president of the american red cross, wrote: "the international committee's feared proliferation of symbols is a pitiful fig leaf, used for decades as the reason for excluding the magen david adom – the shield (or star) of david." in protest over the icrc's perceived anti-israel discrimination, the arc withdrew its financial support. in 2005, at a meeting of nations party to the geneva convention, the icrc adopted the new red crystal. magen david adom then centered the star of david sign inside the newly accepted signage, and in 2006 was accepted as a full member. yonatan yagodovsky, director of mda's fundraising department, said in an article published in october 2011 that "mda will continue to use its emblem and logo, and no one ever asked us to take it off."