The wheels of justice move slowly in Israel. After more than a decade of appeals to officially memorialize 16-year-old Shira Banki, the municipality’s naming committee finally acquiesced. Banki was stabbed to death by Yishai Schlissel, a fanatic who just weeks before was released after serving a decade for attempted murder.
Banki had joined the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance in 2015 as a gesture to her gay friends.
Following her death, her parents, Uri and Mika Banki, established Shira Banki’s Way, which has expanded beyond Jerusalem and is dedicated to promoting a more balanced and moral society. Together with the active involvement of various institutions, the organization has taken up projects struggling against hatred in the public domain and teaching the value of good rather than simply condemning evil.
Now, people who may never have heard of Shira Banki’s Way have the opportunity to adopt the example of accepting the other – the living legacy of so young and vital a human being.
Due to several haredi members on the naming committee – opposed to anything related to homosexuality – a street will not be named for Shira, but a plaque will be prominently displayed.
Construction in Jerusalem
If local Jerusalemites are inconvenienced by all the city construction projects, especially the light rail, imagine what it means for returning tourists.
Stephen M. Flatow, president of the Religious Zionists of America, sent the note published below (edited for space), following something he witnessed on Emek Refaim Street, which traffic-wise has become a one-way street since light rail infrastructure excavations began.
“As I was walking southerly on the east side of Emek Refaim near the Orient [Hotel], I was behind a young mother pushing a twin stroller. She comes to a stop because there was not enough room for the stroller to pass by a tree and the stone wall bordering the sidewalk. Luckily, there was a cyclist (on the sidewalk) in front, so the two of us lifted the stroller (with passenger) up and past the tree and wall. We did that three more times.
“Maybe the mayor can send one of his staffers to man a position to help other stroller-pushing pedestrians stuck behind a tree.”
For those who don’t know, if you want to get from Emek Refaim to Rehavia or the city center, you can walk along the sidewalk mentioned by Flatow until reaching the stop from where most buses travel through Keren Hayesod Street and King George Avenue to Ben-Yehuda. From there, to the shuk or Central Bus Station, take buses 75 or 78.
Nurse saves passenger mid-flight
There are countless stories about people suddenly collapsing in a theater or on board a plane in flight, followed by cries of “Is there a doctor in the house?” or “Is there a doctor on board?”
When a doctor is not available, a nurse can also save a life – which is what veteran Hadassah Medical Center, Mount Scopus, nurse Avivit Eliyahu did when a fellow passenger collapsed during a flight from Ethiopia to Israel.
Midway through the flight, shortly after the meal was served, one of the passengers noticed that a man of about 75, seated a row ahead, was slumped in his seat with his head tilted at an unnatural angle. He was unresponsive, and strange sounds were coming out of his mouth. Two young passengers sitting next to him were asleep and didn’t sense that anything was wrong.
When a voice on the plane’s intercom asked “Is there a doctor or nurse on board?” Eliyahu did not hesitate. “I got up right away. It’s instinct. I’m a nurse everywhere, even on vacation. When you hear the call, you’re already there.”
When she reached the passenger, the situation was clear to her. In all probability, the man had partially choked on food which had entered his air passage. It was right after the meal, and he was unresponsive. Checking his pulse, she found it was extremely weak, almost imperceptible. Time, she knew, was working against him, and every minute was critical. Without medical equipment and without proper conditions but with experience and determination, she began to act.
She asked the two young passengers sitting alongside him to help to lay him down on as firm a surface as possible, and she began checking secretions from his mouth, checking his pulse, and assessing his condition. It was truly a field situation.
The flight attendants gathered around her, alert and anxious. Questions were raised: Should the plane make an emergency landing? Would it have to land in Saudi Arabia? Should they wait? “These are split-second decisions,” Eliyahu said. “I focused on the task at hand. First and foremost, you have to decide how to save a life.”
She asked those around what they knew about the man. According to the people near him, he was traveling alone.
His son had put him on the outbound flight from Israel to Ethiopia to visit family and was apparently waiting for him in Israel on the return.
As the man was unconscious, Eliyahu began chest compressions, suspecting partial choking and attempting to dislodge food that may have been stuck in his airway. The action was precise and calculated, procedures learned and reinforced time and again in CPR and resuscitation courses.
After minutes that felt like an eternity, the man suddenly opened his eyes. There were signs of life. “It’s a moment of immense relief but also of great responsibility because it’s not over yet,” she said.
Eliyahu mobilized those around her and began to closely monitor the passenger. Everyone was given a task.
Everyone wanted to help. The man began to move his lips but appeared very confused. Eliyahu suggested that people speak to him gently in Amharic, which might help orient him. But he was disoriented and didn’t really understand where he was.
Throughout the incident, Eliyahu did not leave the passenger’s side, in case his situation deteriorated. She updated the captain, who decided to continue the flight. The passenger remained under observation until landing. Fellow passengers and the captain thanked Eliyahu and praised her actions.
“I just did what I had to do,” she said. “I’m a nurse.”
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