Barak, Netanyahu, Ashkenazi
Visit Wounded Soldiers at Sheba
Sheba Reaches Out to Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish
Israeli leaders and the world media made pilgrimages to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer this week, as "Operation Cast Lead" (Israel's offensive against the Hamas in Gaza) came to an end. Defense Minister Lt. Gen. (res.) Ehud Barak, himself Israel's most decorated soldier and a former prime minister, visited with wounded IDF soldiers in treatment at Sheba. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, also a former prime minister, visited with soldiers, as well.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak (r.) with Prof. Rotstein
Earlier in the week, immediately after the ceasefire, the Israel Defense Forces Chief-of-Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, visited the wounded soldiers too.
Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu (l.) with Prof. Rotstein
Sheba is currently treating 25 wounded IDF combat soldiers, including one soldier in critical condition, two in serious condition, and others with lifelong injuries including paralysis.
IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi visits with injured Col. Oren Cohen, battalion 13 commander of the elite Golani infantry brigade, as Sheba's Dr. Arnon Afek and Prof. Zeev Rotstein look on
Also being treated at Sheba is a daughter of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a 55-year-old Palestinian gynecologist, who lost three other daughters in the fighting. Dr. Abuelaish is a well-known figure at the hospital. He has been doing research with Dr. Liat Lerner at Sheba's Gertner Institute for Health Policy Research on sharing infrastructures to improve medical treatment for Palestinian children in Gaza. Dr. Abuelaish and his family are now living in a motel apartment at Sheba, provided by the hospital, while his daughter and niece are in treatment.
Dr. Abuelaish with Prof. Rotstein
Sheba CEO Prof. Zeev Rotstein described the Abuelaish incident as "one of the saddest events of the war for us." The Jerusalem Post published an interview with Prof. Rotstein about this (to read, click here).
While caring for Israel's wounded soldiers, Sheba is also treating wounded from the civilian towns of southern Israel hit by Hamas missiles; Palestinians injured by Hamas' own missile fire; Palestinian children ill with cancer and heart ailments, including many children from Gaza; and the full complement of sick and elderly who regularly avail themselves of Sheba Medical Center care.
"Despite the delicate nature of our mission, especially during wartime, we treat all our patients with compassion and a complete heart," Rotstein said. 'This is what our Jewish and Israeli conscience dictates."
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