the IDF has just established a company of reserve doctors, medics and nurses who will focus entirely on providing medical care and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population.
By MICHAEL ORDMANA falcon(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Many people feel that, based on recent anti-Israel reports, it is clear the UN doesn’t genuinely care what happens in the Middle East. Any truly caring organization would be cheering the amazing work that Israel performs for the world.Similarly, Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch proved that he could not care less when he mocked Israel for sending medical teams to Nepal. He needs to read accounts such as that of Israel’s Dr. Giora Weiser, who saved many lives while witnessing appalling devastation and trauma.The local Nepalese, on the other hand, have been far more grateful than HRW for Israel’s support.Israeli doctors have cared for thousands of Syrians wounded in the endless civil war across the border, irrespective of whether they are civilians or combatants.Meanwhile, the IDF has just established a company of reserve doctors, medics and nurses who will focus entirely on providing medical care and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population. They also will work closely with Palestinian Authority medical institutions to help develop PA medical infrastructure.Israel will go far beyond the call of duty to save innocent lives. East Timor just became the 50th country to send child patients, in this case baby Lisa, to Israeli charity Save A Child’s Heart. SACH doctors have saved over 3,500 children’s lives, including Lisa’s, by repairing her congenital heart defect.I regularly discover articles featuring organizations that care for specific disadvantaged sections of Israeli society. The most recent example is the Alon Center in Kibbutz Alonim, which attends to the needs of teenagers of normal intelligence with emotional and/or behavioral issues who have been unable to successfully integrate into the regular school system.In Israel you do not have to look far to find examples of caring organizations. In my home city, the English-Speaking Residents Association is doing amazing work to help Netanya’s 30,000-plus community of Ethiopians. And where but in the Jewish state would the government appoint a senior citizens, young people and gender equality minister, to ensure that pensioners, students, women and the young are sufficiently cared for? Israelis have been at the forefront of developing hi-tech medical care devices such as ReWalk, a wearable robotic exoskeleton that provides powered hip and knee motion to enable individuals with spinal cord injury to stand upright and walk.But even a low-tech solution can provide adequate care – which is why the Israeli charity Yad Sarah, which cares for the disabled, distributed emergency beepers to 20,000 people who live alone. Users can contact Yad Sarah, relatives or the emergency services at any time using a button on a bracelet. The organization also provides wheelchairs for disabled tourists and even delivers them to the airport.Finally, my recent landing at Ben-Gurion Airport was interrupted along with all international flights for 30 minutes when a nest with five hatched falcons was discovered in a navigational antenna. As the worried adult birds circled overhead, the falcon chicks were carefully removed and taken to the nearby Ramat Gan Safari to be raised and then returned to the wild.Israel – where everybody cares.The writer compiles a free weekly newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel: www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com and a searchable archive at www.IsraelActive.com.Contact him at: michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com