Glick leaves hospital: The staff who treated me are real Muslims, not the man who shot me

Nearly one month after almost dying in a hail of bullets fired at him by an Arab terrorist, Temple Mount activist Yehudah Glick on Monday was released from Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.Glick, 49, was shot four times by 32-year-old Islamic Jihad member Moataz Hejazi after giving a lecture at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center on October 29. Hejazi was killed in a police shootout at his eastern Jerusalem Abu Tor home hours later.During a press conference at the hospital Monday afternoon, an emotional Glick thanked the doctors who cared for him after arriving there in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his abdomen, lung, throat and hand.Noting that none of the bullets severed any major arteries, Glick said he deemed his recovery a “miracle” and thanked God, “who brings back life to the deceased.”He went on to condemn his attacker and praise Muslim physicians and staff, including a doctor named Muhammad, who helped save his life.“The terrorist who shot me told me, ‘I’m sorry, but I have to shoot you because you are an enemy of al-Aksa Mosque,’” he said, adding that Hejazi’s actions desecrated the Muslim holy site.“Anybody who shoots and kills someone in the name of his religion is the first person disgracing his religion,” Glick continued. “Those who are giving respect to Islam are those Muslim doctors and nurses who work at this hospital [by] helping people after they have signed the Hippocratic Oath.“These are the people who are bringing respect to God and their religion – not those who murder in the name of religion.”SZMC director-general Prof. Jonathan Halevy said it was a “great day for the Glick family,” and praised hospital employees and Magen David Adom first-responders whose quick actions saved Glick’s life.The hospital’s deputy director and trauma medicine director, Dr. Ofer Merin, said he was overwhelmed by Glick’s recovery.“I don’t know if you can appreciate how much emotion we feel that someone who arrived here in such a serious state can leave in such a condition today,” said Merin.Surgery chief Prof. Petachia Reissman said Glick’s case reminded him of why he became a doctor.“Every day over the past two weeks when we walked into his room and witnessed his remarkable progress, I felt enormous professional satisfaction,” Reissman said. “My only hope is that we’ll never see you again here for these reasons.”While the activist said he would not discuss political matters related to the Temple Mount, he emphasized that the government must afford greater protection for Jews.“It must not be a working assumption that members of the public in Israel are protected,” he said. “Something has happened in Israel – a person who is active in public and law-abiding was shot because of his faith.”Glick added that the government must “come to its senses” and provide greater protection for the public.Still, he praised authorities for their rapid response in finding and killing his attacker.