CNN ran a story about seven Syrians who have been injured in the fighting in Syria and who are being treated at a hospital in Northern Israel. All seven were transported to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed no questions asked. With the exception of one, all are in stable condition. This is where Israeli humanity meets Arab reality.
The article states:
Israeli doctors frequently treat people from groups with which Israel has tensions, or even is engaged in conflict. In November, CNN visited an Israeli hospital treating an Israeli child and a Palestinian child, both wounded in warfare between Israel and militants in Gaza. Ziv Medical Center treated soldiers and a Syrian pilot during the 1982 Israeli war with Lebanon, hospital officials said.
What caught my eye in the story, besides its humanitarian aspect, was the refusal of the Ziv Medical Center to elaborate on whose side the seven injured were fighting for. Dr. Oscar Embon, spokesman for the Center, said:
We treat patients regardless of religion, race, nationality and give the best care we can provide.
Whom they fight for aside, the sad aspect of the story is the realism the region lives under. How many times do we face situations when the help of a country could be the source of more enmity or hate when it discloses details about its humanitarian work?
If Israel announces the fighters are pro-Assad, Israel becomes a magnet for Arab Street and Sunni hate. If Israel discloses the fighters are anti-Assad, Israel becomes the target of more terror by Assad, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Yet, Israel helps the injured because the ethics of medical care demand it and humanity is saved because of the small gestures before us.
For once, it matters little who is injured. For once, what matters is to show compassion whether the fighters are pro or anti-Assad.
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