The effects of war are undoubtedly tragic. Loss of life, regardless of any affiliating identity, is always devastating. Mothers weep for their sons; sons weep for their mothers. Fathers fear for their daughters; daughters fear for their fathers. We all cry the same tears. We all bleed the same blood. My flesh is his flesh, and his mine. I feel profound empathy for the pain people feel, for the grief the Israeli-Palestinian conflict causes on a daily basis, to both Israelis and Palestinians.
In saying this, I wanted to offer an additional opinion on the April 8 article, “UF group educates students on discrimination in Palestine.” The article quotes a sign held by Students for Justice in Palestine that read, “IDF attacked Palestinian Christians in Beit Jala during Palm Sunday service — Do you care?”
Yes, I do care. And so does Israel.
I am a proud UF Jewish student, and in the summer of 2013 I volunteered in Israel with Magen David Adom, Israel’s national ambulance service. As an overseas volunteer, we rode ambulances 40 hours a week, assisting paramedics with calls ranging from simple hospital transfers to internationally headlined mass casualties. As a future physician, my experience was unparalleled. I received hands-on, on-the-job training that I could not have experienced anywhere else. I responded to an emergency airplane landing. I performed lifesaving CPR. I saw bullet wounds. For any pre-medical student, this was the perfect opportunity to delve into medicine.
But aside from the scientific lessons, I learned a lot about Israel’s health care system. I learned about Israel’s medical philosophies; I learned about Israel’s profound respect for humanity. While in training, we were told to treat every patient with respect, with dignity and with care — regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion or any other intersecting identity. It didn’t matter who the human was. What mattered was that they needed our help. It was our duty to save lives — ancillary details did not matter.
I cannot speak for the Israel Defense Forces, as I am not an Israeli citizen, and I did not serve in the Israeli army. However, as a volunteer for MDA, I can speak to the implied “inhumanity” of Israel this article addresses. When a student says, “People do not believe in Palestinian rights,” this is untrue. As a Jewish individual, I care. As a volunteer, I care. As a service member of the Israeli MDA, I care. As did my fellow volunteers from all around the world. As did my teachers from all across Israel. To assert that Israelis don’t care feels simply untrue. To promote one side feels unfair. To “push support and raise awareness” based on half an argument feels misguided.
The desire to educate students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is vitally important. War takes from us the most important things of all — life, freedom, loved ones — and I believe the students mentioned in this article are coming from a well-intentioned place of heart, grief and sacrifice. But I respectfully ask that the push for awareness be accurate and that the spread of information diffuses truth from both sides, from both Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, from all corners of Israel.
Leora Lieberman
UF graduate student
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 4/15/2015]
