“Israel: A Force For Tikkun Olam” by Bob Feferman

This past year has been a difficult year for Israel’s public image in the world. Whether it was the events surrounding the Turkish aid flotilla to Gaza or the Goldstone Report, Israel is fighting against a very sophisticated campaign to delegitimize its right to defend itself against terrorism.  Even worse is the campaign to delegitimize Israel’s very right to exist. That is why it is so important for me to share a side of Israel that the media does not tell us about, and that is how this tiny country is actually a force for good that is guided by the principal of Tikkun Olam, healing the world.

During our recent trip to Israel, we visited the Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya, located in our Federation’s partnership region, the western Galilee. Keep in mind that this city is located just six miles south of the Lebanese border, and it was the target of hundreds of Hezbollah rockets during the 2006 Lebanon War. At the hospital, we saw Tikkun Olam as a daily way of life.

The Western Galilee Hospital serves as an example of what the Middle East could be one day; it is a living model for peace and cooperation in a troubled region. That is because the population of the area served by the hospital is one of the most diverse in the Middle East. Roughly 50% of the 450,000 people served by this amazing hospital are Muslim and Christian Arabs and members of the Druze sect, an offshoot of the Muslim religion. All come together at the hospital for one purpose: the healing of body and spirit.  At the hospital, you can see Jewish doctors and nurses working side by side with Arab doctors and nurses treating both Arab and Jewish patients who share the same rooms. Indeed, today the director of the hospital is Dr. Masad Barhoum, a Christian- Arab from Haifa.

If anyone ever tries to tell you that Israel is an apartheid state, ask them if they have ever been to this hospital in Nahariya. In fact, ask them if they have ever been to any Israeli hospital because they would find the same situation at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, and Soroka Hospital in Beersheba: Jews providing healing for Arabs and working together for one purpose, Tikkun Olam, healing the world.

Yet, the most dramatic example of Israel and Tikkun Olam came from the scenes we witnessed after the tragic earthquake in Haiti. Upon hearing the news of the earthquake, The Israel Defense Forces- the IDF- immediately organized to send a full military field hospital with a medical staff of 120 doctors and nurses, many of them reservists who were called up specifically for this mission.

These videos describe their accomplishments :

Also watch this CNN Report :

We must also “widen the lens” to see the threats looming on the horizon. The enemies of Israel- Iran, Syria and their proxies Hamas and Hezbollah- are doing everything possible to destroy the hopes for peace. That is why the Western Galilee Hospital was the target of Hezbollah rockets during the 2006 Lebanon War forcing the entire hospital to move to its amazing underground complex.  This powerful video shows us what it was like during the war.  

Today, Iran and Syria have rearmed Hezbollah with more than 40,000 rockets and advanced missiles that can now target all of Israel.  These islands of Tikkun Olam- Israeli hospitals- will all be targets of these missiles in the next war. That is why we must focus our efforts on supporting the good things happening through our Federation’s partnership with the Western Galilee, and we must do everything possible to prevent Iran and Syria from destroying the hopes for peace.