The Arab protested; he wanted to be taken to an Arab hospital. So, the team ordered army escort and drove the patient to the hospital he chose – an Arab hospital in Jerusalem. Upon arrival, the patient demanded to see a doctor, but was told there was no doctor in the hospital. If he could explain his problem, they would call a doctor and see if he would be willing to come.
The Arab screamed at the people there, asking them what kind of a hospital this was…and then demanded that Elie’s team take him back to Hadassah…which they did.
And, at this moment, at that same hospital, doctors are treated the terrorist who stabbed a soldier today. They will fight for his life, heal his wounds, and do all they can to fulfill the oath they took as doctors.
They have done this for countless other terrorists, sometimes managing to save their lives while their victims fade away and the families leave to bury and mourn. They have done this for the wives of Palestinian leaders, the children and grandchildren who were quietly driven or flown from Gaza to take advantage of some of the best healthcare in the world…even during battles that were waged and rockets being fired.
The doctors at Shaarei Tzedek today struggled to stabilize and save the life of a young soldier. As hard as they had it, in many ways it was worse for the doctors at Hadassah. I can’t imagine how it feels to work to save the life of a man you know has stabbed a soldier, rammed his car and murdered an infant, a police officer, or someone who has blown up a bus, a restaurant…
For all the money in the world, it is not a job I would wish on anyone.