Hope from Gaza

The Full Story - with thanks to the staff at the Emek Medical Center for this story

Part I

I went to our Pediatric ICU in search of M.Z. from Gaza. I heard that his baby daughter was flown here from Southern Israel by helicopter after our medical team connected her to the ECMO machine that temporarily takes over the functioning of the heart and lungs. Our mobile ECMO team is the only of its kind in Israel. I saw a large group of Arabs relaxing on the grass outside the department and asked if M.Z. was among them. They answered me that they were Israeli Bedouins and not from Gaza. I found M.Z. sitting alone outside on the other side of the building ... smoking and looking dazed.

Thus our conversation began. After introducing myself and shaking his hand, I asked about his daughter. ‘‘She's only one year and eight months old ... and the only one of my eight children who looks like me.’‘ His eyes were red, tired and reflected great pain. M.Z. told me how the little girl one day could not breathe and how he rushed her, without incident, from Gaza to Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva. After several days there her condition rapidly and seriously deteriorated and that's when our team flew to hopefully rescue her. M.Z. was angry at the fateful turn of events that had befallen his daughter and could only refer to Allah (God) for mercy. He was grateful that our people were doing everything possible to save his child. We began discussing politics and the direction our two peoples were heading. There we were ... a Jewish grandfather (me) and a Muslim father of a gravely ill child from Gaza ... talking like old friends ... almost like family. The mere fact that he was here while our physicians fought to save the life of his little girl is noteworthy these days. Did we solve anything? Politically, certainly not ... medically, we are hoping for the best. Just another example of life in Israel at eye level ... far beyond the media.

Part II

That first encounter with M.Z. was on a Thursday. The following Sunday I learned from the attending physician, Dr. Merzel, that there was no change in the little girl’s condition. Her name … Hadil. I again walked across the hospital campus to find her father and this time I found him in the simple room where parents of critically ill children could sleep. The Pediatric ICU is not a happy place and he was not a happy man. The gravity of Hadil’s condition was etched in his face as he murmured over and over, ‘‘Hum-Dulelah’‘ (blessed be the name of the Lord). In Hebrew we say, ‘‘Baruch- Hashem’‘ and he flipped between the two languages. We greeted each other with a sincere Middle Eastern hug and kisses on the cheek. M.Z. was alone and it was important to me, in the name of humanity and of my people, to provide him with some personalized contact. ‘‘Come, my friend, let me buy you some coffee, something to eat and we’ll go to my office. You need a change of scenery.’‘

We ate and drank together, sitting on opposite sides of my desk and once again spoke as if we had known each other for years. So natural, so right. I then accompanied him back to the ICU where he could be near his daughter. When I left him, we both glanced skywards and opened our hands, acknowledging that Hadil’s fate rested with Allah, God or whatever name we mortals choose to give our Creator.

The next morning Dr. Merzel informed me that Hadil’s condition was extremely grave and that she was not responding. The end was near. With a heavy heart, I walked over to find M.Z. He was not there so I looked into the room to see his daughter, jaundiced, so very small and vulnerable, attached to the ECMO that pumped blood and oxygen through her failing body. A moment later, M.Z. entered the hallway with his wife who had been rushed here from Gaza, accompanied by his cousin. She could not bring herself to turn the corner to look upon her daughter … to say goodbye. I respectfully stood well off to the side, as did the nurses, as M.Z. encouraged her forward. Tragedy is any parent having to experience such a moment in their lives.

Later, in the hallway, M.Z. introduced me to his wife and cousin. I held her hand between my own and we looked into one another’s eyes. Nothing needed to be said.

Later that afternoon as I was leaving to return home, M.Z. and his cousin stopped me with urgency on their faces. ‘‘Please …,’‘ pleaded M.Z. ‘‘My cousin and wife were only given permission by the authorities to enter Israel for twelve hours. They want to stay with me tonight because the end of Hadil is very near. Can you help us?’‘

What a macabre situation I was faced with … not really knowing how to attain the permission they needed. I immediately contacted the head of our security who then put me in touch with a uniformed policeman, Reuven, who was stationed permanently at the hospital. Reuven is an Ethiopian who speaks Hebrew and Arabic as well as his native tongue. ‘‘How do you know Arabic?’‘ I asked him. ‘‘I spent some time in Sudan,’‘ he answered in his typically gentle Ethiopian manner.

So began a myriad of telephone calls to first the central police authority and then to the army who was ultimately responsible for any Palestinian entering Israel from either Gaza or the West Bank. The hours were ticking by. If we did not succeed in getting to the right person, then the cousin and wife, when attempting to cross back into Gaza, would be arrested and interrogated as to their whereabouts beyond the time that was allotted them. Such a scenario was incomprehensible to me considering the nightmare they were living.

We had run smack into the steel reinforced concrete wall of military bureaucracy. It was then late in the afternoon and I realized that I was in deep water far over my head. I suggested to the cousin that he take a taxi back to Gaza to avoid his being unjustifiably arrested and that we would find a solution for the mother of little Hadil. They all agreed.

M.Z. later remembered the name of the Palestinian liaison officer at the governmental level in Gaza who helped negotiate matters of extenuating circumstances … but he did not have his phone number. He tried calling a relative in Gaza who might have that number, but his mobile phone could not make the necessary connection. I took him to our administration office where the only international phone line was located. We were successful in finding his relative and in getting that final phone number.

I spoke with the liaison officer who was familiar with the story and he thanked me for intervening on behalf of the family. He also said that he would personally handle the contacts with his Israeli counterpart to guarantee the safe passage of the family when they returned to Gaza. I handed the phone to M.Z. who spoke and shed tears as he thanked the man for his help.

I returned home later that evening, several hours after being stopped by those people who needed some help. Palestinians from Gaza.

The next day at 9:40 AM, Hadil passed away. With a heavy heart, I walked over to face the bereaved parents. The three of us sat quietly together in their room … as the mother, dazed and broken, mumbled repeatedly … ‘‘Hum-Dulelah, Hum-Dulelah.’‘ M.Z. cried as we parted with a long hug and kisses on both cheeks. We stared long, hard into each other’s eyes and just nodded.

Our hospital arranged for an ambulance from Gaza to come and take M.Z., his wife and the body of Hadil back home.

Many people complain that an Israeli would never be given an equal opportunity if the situation were reversed. That is not what this is all about. This sad story graphically illustrates a reality of life here that is hidden from the world’s media. Israeli technology, medical expertise and human kindness are available to Palestinians in need. We were not able to save little Hadil, but we tried.

IAW (BDS) 0 v IPW 5

With thanks to the contributors of TBT (Truth Be Told), members of the South African community

This year in Cape Town, opponents of BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) decided to show another side to the coin. Although totally outmatched by the well-financed and professionally organized BDS movement, these Capetonians adopted a proactive, imaginative approach with an “Israel Peace Week.” (IPW). This can be role model for the many campuses around the world facing IAW activities.

The South African leg of the 9th international Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) campaign (11-17 March 2013) has officially kicked off! The complete IAW programme (with over 95 events taking place nationwide) was announced at a joint press conference held on Sunday at the symbolic "Apartheid Museum" in Johannesburg.

Zingiswa Losi, 2nd Deputy President of COSATU, said at the launch of the IAW 2013 campaign: "Our own experience under apartheid and how it enforced its rule through measures such as the pass laws, banishment, passport denials is currently being replicated by the Apartheid State of Israel on the Palestinian people at an amplified rate…we call for the intensification of the [Palestinian solidarity] struggle, particularly the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign...As our own anti-apartheid struggle has demonstrated, this is an effective, non-violent form of resistance that can bring an end to injustice and contribute immensely to liberation."

In order to counter these activities, a pro Israel group erected enormous “Abraham’s Tent” on the main plaza of the University of Cape Town campus. There, visitors enjoy the patriarch’s hospitality – falafel, pita, Israeli salad, coffee and juices.

To support the Capetonians a new voluntary organization in Israel known as TRUTH BE TOLD (TBT) in cooperation with the IDC Herzliya and the SA Zionist Federation in SA organized to send five Ethiopian students to South Africa to appear on campuses and  among non Jewish and Jewish groups. 

It was really heartwarming to meet these students at a briefing with TBT before they left. They are charming, sincere and intelligent. They are proud of their African Jewish heritage and proud to be Israelis.  All have either served in the IDF or completed meaningful national service.

And this is the reaction from one of the Capetonians who hosted the students

"Your five superb Israeli/Jewish/Ethiopian IDC students arrived in CT last week. We could not have had any better emissaries to dispel the Israel 

Apartheid analogy and present a very different Israel to the one depicted in South Africa. 

As an Israeli and as a member of the Jewish/Zionist community I was so proud of them. They spent 2 days with our Jewish youth in our Jewish day schools interacting with the kids and enabling them to see beyond what they read or hear in the media.

They have gone onto campus interacted with the students, addressed church service and spoke to 'man in the street', the bouncer at the club etc etc and dispelled many preconceived ideas about Jews and Israel"

Click here for more background  http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=306089

Ethiopian Students Excel at University

The Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa, in partnership with the University of Haifa, provides Ethiopian students the chance to gain a higher education by fostering their leadership skills and academic excellence. The program creates a better starting point; an easier transition and integration into professional life for each participating student. With today’s troubling statistics; a mere 10% of Ethiopian Israelis have a higher education or job training, only 5% were in jobs requiring a university degree, Ethiopian Israelis receive a significantly lower salary in employment, women in particular are gived unequal opportunities and salaries; every one of these statistics is unacceptable and in light of the hard truth, the Leo Baeck Education Center is aiming to stop this downward spiral.

It isn’t simply the fifteen young hopefuls that gain valuable tools, enhanced resumés, improve their employability, and become empowered. No, it is the entire Ethiopian community and general Haifa residents that benefit from the result of this program. What are the results? First and foremost, the ULTP (University Leadership Training Program) students become leaders and role models to the younger generations; lifting the whole community up. We have seen how excitement and motivation awaits the Ethiopian community; they go from a state of destitute to a state of optimism, filled with pride when they see one of their young members graduate from the ULTP program and become inspirational young leaders.

What is important to note is how the program embraces traditions. Rather than attempting to discard the students cultural heritage, the Leo Baeck ULTP program gives the students the abilities to look critically at the weaknesses in their own community. They are able to create coping mechanisms to solve the problems within their own culture and community.

“A culture that does not know her past, her present is poor and her future unclear” (Yigal Alon)

The ULTP program has transformed the lives of many capable Ethiopian Israelis, for the past 17 years. This is one of Israel’s most pressing social issues – the integration of young people into employment and removing the barriers that persist in society. 

Genetic Risk Factors for Common Causes of Advanced Kidney Disease

Israeli and American Research Teams Close in on Genetic Risk Factors for Common Causes of Advanced Kidney Disease

It is estimated that in North America there are approximately forty million individuals with chronic kidney disease at various stages of severity. Among these, approximately half a million individuals have the final or end-stage of kidney disease requiring life-sustaining dialysis or transplantation. The comparable number in Israel is approximately 3,000 individuals. While these therapies are life-sustaining, they are associated with a reduced quality of life and increased mortality.

In regions of the world where dialysis and transplantation are not available, end-stage kidney disease is fatal. Until recently, it was thought that genetic factors make a relatively minor contribution limited to a few rare forms of kidney disease with a clear-cut familial hereditary pattern. However, the now well-documented observation of marked disparities in the prevalence of the most common forms of end-stage kidney disease among different population groups in North America, suggested that genetic factors may play a more important role than previously considered, in almost all forms of kidney disease.

In particular, African-Americans have an approximately 4-fold higher rate and Hispanic-Americans an approximately 2-fold higher rate of end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation, compared to Americans of European ancestry. There is a comparably higher rate of high blood pressure and other manifestations of kidney disease.

The finding that these disparities could not be attributed solely to socio-economic, cultural, dietary, or environmental factors, strongly pointed to a major genetic contribution to common forms of kidney disease. Indeed, genetic mapping studies reported by American groups of researchers during the past two years, identified a specific gene on chromosome 22 (MYH9), and which is expressed in the kidney, as explaining the African ancestry genetic risk.

In the current issue of the prestigious journal "Human Molecular Genetics", an American research team working with the Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, together the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem Israel, and in collaboration research colleagues at Tel Aviv University and the National Institutes of Health in the USA, report finding the very strong predictive association of new markers within this gene, with common forms of end-stage kidney disease in different population groups. In the current study, the researchers found a particular suite of markers which designate and allelic variant of the gene, which appears to have originated in Western and South Africa, carries with it a high risk for kidney disease, when present in admixed populations, such as Hispanic Americans.

Thus, while the researchers report an overall genomic African ancestry contribution of approximately 85% in African-Americans and 30% in Hispanic-Americans, the African risk variant of this particular gene confers an increased risk for end-stage kidney disease of between 3 to 5 fold. This is one of the highest ever reported genetically based set of risk markers for a common disease state, and leads to consideration of utilization of the markers for population health screening in the prevention of kidney disease.

Furthermore, the finding of these predictive genetic markers, paves the way for identifying the actual genetic mutation which promotes kidney injury, and will hopefully lead to the development of preventive and therapeutic interventions. In this regard, HIV-associated end-stage kidney disease is the most highly associated form of kidney failure with these newly reported risk markers. The same Technion and Rambam based research teams had already reported four years ago, that in contrast to African-Americans, Ethiopians seem to be completely protected from this form of kidney failure, and therefore may hold the clue that connects the function of this gene with healthy kidneys.

Haifa Ethiopian Student Addresses Knesset

Ethiopian-Israeli scholarship student, Million Haile, whose father came to Israel with Operation Moses and is himself a proud graduate of the Leo Baeck Education Center, delivered an outstanding speech at the 61st anniversary session of the Knesset last week.

Million elicited rousing applause with her passionate speech about the State's coercion of the Ethiopian new immigrant population to study within a religious educational framework.

Million was one of 22 Leo Baeck Senior High School "Debate Club" members, who came together with students from all over Israel as honored guests of the Knesset.

The students participated in the deliberations of three Knesset committees: Foreign Affairs and Defense, Education and Finance. Each student, accompanied by an MK, briefly addressed the plenum session, held in the presence of President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

President Peres urged the students to enter political life, saying, "There is nothing more fascinating... anyone can be great if he or she serves a greater purpose."

The entire experience was a thrill for the students, and a huge honor for the Leo Baeck Education Center. In the words of Leo Baeck Senior High School Principal Dani Steiner, "This fist hand experience of Israel's governmental system is the essence of true learning."

Haifa Fueling Israel's Transition from Agriculture to Hi-Tech

It has now been announced that the city of Haifa together with a non profit organisation "A Computer for Every Child" is distributing 120 computers to the homes of immigrant Ethiopian children. the computers will be installed shortly after the children and their parents undergo training courses in how to use them. this is part of the on-going action progfram to help absorb and strengthen this community in Haifa.

There seems to be an amazing potential in these children and in order to further help in their studies, a group of Anglos, many former teachers of English, are devoting their time to assist Ethiopian kids in attaining levels of English to allow them to go on to University

A recent visitor to the Haifa Technion reported that "this location has fueled Israel's transition from agriculture to hi-tech. The economy is booming and optimism permeates the air. "

He goes on to report that "Haifa which is a mix of Route 22 near Boston with Silicon Valley, a large touch of San Diego's biotech labs, and you get a feel for Haifa is. Combine the wellspring of brainpower, the determination of the Technion's faculty and students and the huge investment of capital from around the world, and you get a location in which every major corporation searching for tomorrow has a building, a lab and a staff.

Do you want to look into the future? Look no further than the labs and classrooms of the Technion. We witnessed time-lapse photography through electron microscopes that disclosed the secrets of cancer cells mutating; patches allowing the regeneration of bone tissue; nano robots that cruise through the body delivering medication; computerized face-recognition programs that can pick a terrorist out of a crowd; embryonic stem cells morphed into a biological patch to fix a diseased heart; and the list goes on and on. "

This investment in educating for the future must ultimately strengthen the country and its potential in the future. Surely, our Palestinian neighbors should learn from this and educate their children for peace not jihad.