Daily Letter 6: Essential Stories

Essential Stories

At the conclusion of Shabbat services yesterday, I heard the following story from one of our active members. His brother David is a highly accomplished Israeli surgeon who retired a few years ago.

He’s gone back to work, given the national emergency, at one of Israel’s leading hospitals (Tel Hashomer).

The very first patient he operated on was a Hamas terrorist, who’d been active in the massacre of our people. Just before the surgery began, a leading surgeon who had trained under David, and who himself is a Palestinian, looked at him and asked, “Are you going to do this?”

“Of course,” David replied without hesitation.

Countless Hamas killers are receiving state-of-the art medical care in Israel. And, Israeli Arabs, most of whom now identify as Palestinians, make up 17% of doctors, 24% of nurses, and 48% of pharmacists, as of 2020. These percentages continue to increase. Note, the Palestinian doctor had as much or more of a hesitation about the patient than the Jewish Israeli did. Hamas has long been the sworn enemy of peace, and the primary impediment to a brighter future for Palestinians.

Consider these eloquent words (video below) from the United States Secretary of Defense in Jerusalem just prior to Shabbat, when Secretary Lloyd Austin pointed out that Hamas had nothing to offer except zealotry, bigotry, and death.

Stories like this one told about David are essential and need to be shared.

Amidst these painful days, it’s vital to remain supremely focused on those being held captive. We’ll put them at the forefront of our prayers this Tuesday evening when we come together at KI at 7:30 pm.

Am Yisrael Chai,
Rabbi William Hamilton