If there is good "stuff" happening
in the Middle East, it is almost certainly happening in Israel. In recent
days, every time I post I want to end with some of that good stuff, but lose
momentum after writing about all the bad. And so today I will reverse
procedure.
Abdu Razek, an Ethiopian boy of
about nine who was severely mauled by rampaging hyenas in his small
village, and disfigured as a result of his injury, has been brought to Israel
for treatment. Hospitals in Ethiopia did not have the sophisticated equipment
necessary for addressing his situation: he requires surgery on his head and
major skin grafting on his face.
Credit:
Jpost
While funds are still
being raised for his treatment, he was brought on Monday to the
Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya. The hospital's director-general, Dr.
Masad Barhoum, said:
“I’m proud to be a part of this
health care system that acts without hesitation to save the life of a child, not
just those in Israel but also to provide humanitarian aid internationally when
we are able. This shows the unique nature of Israel.”
(Emphasis added)
The United Jewish Communities, the
Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution Committee and the Foreign Ministry
collaborated to make the this happen; Dr. Rick Hodes, chief physician of
the JDC’s medical mission in Ethiopia, started the process by calling attention
to the boy's plight.
Please, share this story
about Israel, which is so often vilified as "racist" and "apartheid."
~~~~~~~~~~
A similar story about Israeli
medical care can be told about injured Syrians -- at least 100 by some
counts -- who have crossed the border seeking Israeli medical help in the recent
months of the civil war.
Most of these Syrians come to
Ziv Medical Center in S'fat, which is in the north, not far from the Syrian
border; there are three other northern hospitals also receiving Syrians.
The treatment they provide often saves lives.
Doctors have no information on
whether their patients, frequently in critical condition, are civilians,
members of the Syrian army, or rebels.
"It’s our duty as a regional hospital," says Dr. Amram Hadary, director of
the trauma unit at Ziv. "We cannot ignore that the Syrian conflict is
happening behind our door. We cannot close our eyes, ears and hearts to what is
happening there. It’s a catastrophe."
“We treat patients regardless of religion, race, nationality, and give the best care we can provide,” Ziv Director, Dr. Oscar Embon, explains.
"For me, they are human beings in need of treatment. I’m not thinking of them as enemies. I’m glad as a physician that we have the opportunity to exercise humanistic principles. I’m very glad to be able to do what we’re taught to do.
"...Because of the critical condition in which many of them arrive, we don’t question who they are. It is irrelevant. They are patients and are treated with the best measures we have in the hospital. Everyone gets the same treatment.
"One of our raisons d’être is not only to treat the civilian population here but everyone who needs trauma treatment in the area."
Israel’s Health Ministry and Defense Ministry have agreed to jointly fund the hospital treatment for Syrians.
http://israel21c.org/social-action-2/israeli-doctors-save-syrian-lives/
Where else in the world, my friends, would we encounter this attitude?
~~~~~~~~~~
“We treat patients regardless of religion, race, nationality, and give the best care we can provide,” Ziv Director, Dr. Oscar Embon, explains.
"For me, they are human beings in need of treatment. I’m not thinking of them as enemies. I’m glad as a physician that we have the opportunity to exercise humanistic principles. I’m very glad to be able to do what we’re taught to do.
"...Because of the critical condition in which many of them arrive, we don’t question who they are. It is irrelevant. They are patients and are treated with the best measures we have in the hospital. Everyone gets the same treatment.
"One of our raisons d’être is not only to treat the civilian population here but everyone who needs trauma treatment in the area."
Israel’s Health Ministry and Defense Ministry have agreed to jointly fund the hospital treatment for Syrians.
http://israel21c.org/social-action-2/israeli-doctors-save-syrian-lives/
Where else in the world, my friends, would we encounter this attitude?
~~~~~~~~~~
Archeologists in Israel have
announced that they have found remnants of the ancient Tabernacle -- the center
of Jewish worship in the Land of Israel that pre-dated the Temple -- that was at
Shilo between the conquest of the Land of Israel by Joshua and the rise of King David.
You can find details
here:
~~~~~~~~~~
"U.S. sources
told the Reuters news agency on Monday that congressional committees
are holding up a plan to send U.S. weapons to rebels fighting Syrian President
Bashar Al-Assad.
"The delay is over fears that such deliveries will not be
decisive and the arms might end up in the hands of Islamist rebel
groups.
"Both the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence
committees have expressed reservations behind closed doors at the effort by
President Barack Obama's administration to support the insurgents by sending
them military hardware."
This is certainly good news. Some decision
makers in the US have their heads screwed on properly, even if the resident of
the White House does not. Indeed, weaponry might end up in the hands of
Islamist rebel groups!
~~~~~~~~~~
I turn now -- sigh...there seems little choice -- to the
bad news, with the observation that situations are shifting so
rapidly it's difficult to keep track. What is more, there are often
conflicting reports on any given situation, so that nailing down the facts
is a challenge.
And I want to emphasize one point critical to our
understanding of what is happening in the Middle East:
We are witnessing an intensifying Sunni-Shia war;
this fact must be kept in mind as we consider patterns of attacks, surprising
new alliances and movements across borders.
~~~~~~~~~~
There was an explosion at about noon today in Dahiyah,
a southern suburb of Beirut that is a Hezbollah stronghold.
There are some 53 wounded and possibly one dead. The source of the
explosion is believed to be a car bomb estimated as weighing 40 kilo (about
18 lb.). According to the Daily Star (Lebanon) the blast left a
crater two meters wide and over two meters deep, and destroyed 15 cars in the
parking lot where it took place. Plumes of black smoke rose in
the air.
Credit: Israel
Hayom
~~~~~~~~~~
Unsurprisingly, Hezbollah pointed a finger at Israel.
But it's looking as if responsibility lies elsewhere: There were reports
of the sounds of celebration (firecrackers, gunfire) following the bombing, in
the Bab Tabbaneh neighborhood of Tripoli (Lebanon), where there have
been anti-Shiite clashes.
At first an official with the Free Syria Army claimed
responsibility, and then a spokesman for Free Syria denied
involvement.
Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the attack
was "a criminal act aimed at destabilizing the country and creating Sunni-Shiite
sectarian strife."
Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon concurred:
"The war in Syria has found its way to Lebanon long ago
because of Hezbollah's involvement in it. You can see it in Tripoli, Beirut and
Sidon and in this morning's car bomb attack. This fight is between the
Sunnis and the Shiites and Israel will not intervene in it."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel is being charged with responsibility for more than
today's blast in Cairo:
What is of significance is that the extreme Islamist Nour
party agreed to accept his nomination because he is a technocrat -- a person
with technical expertise and not just a politician, and has had government
experience. While the Brotherhood was pushed out of power, the Nour party
-- Egypt's second largest Islamist party -- had been courted by the
military as a participant in negotiations over the new government. There
was an eagerness to show inclusiveness, with Islamists involved, if not the
Brotherhood.
Just yesterday, Nour, which had opposed AlBaradei, had
announced it was pulling out because of the killing of
pro-Morsi protesters. But apparently now it has reversed its
position.
The hope is that a full cabinet of technocrats will be
appointed soon.
The news today brought a modicum of hope to Egypt, and the
country's main shares index rose 1.7 percent.
~~~~~~~~~~
Be aware: None of this provides a promise that things will
go smoothly in Egypt now. The Brotherhood is still there. And a fickle mob
is watching.
The Public Prosecutor has begun investigations of pro-Morsi
people who generated the riot outside Republican Guard headquarters. Some
650 people have been detained so far.
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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