Back For too long, Israel has been willing and eager to help and the rest of the world has been all too ready to reject her. The recent decision by the Geneva Conventions signatory countries to accept a third neutral symbol, and thereby open their ranks to the State of Israel and her emergency society, marks a new beginning for the world health community. We in the Jewish community have watched with amazement for decades as Israel has been excluded from international bodies, including the Red Cross community, ostensibly for its use of a symbol, the Star of David. The mission of Magen David Adom is entirely in keeping with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Federations – to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and tend to the wounded – and the world’s inability to recognize our Israeli brothers and sisters was yet another example of anti-Israel sentiment in a world eager to blame Israel for most of its ills. For those of us in the American Jewish community, the stewardship of the American Red Cross in keeping Magen David Adom’s battle for equity on the front burner has been most gratifying. As is generally the role that falls to the U.S., they were brokers for what was right, for refusing to buckle to base prejudice, for getting to the heart of the matter: allowing Israel to join the world health community with its lifesaving services. We thank them and members of Congress, like Representatives Eliot, Engel, Ackerman, Waxman and Kolbe, as well as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who likewise fought for Israel’s right to join the Red Cross community. The birth of the Red Crystal – and the forthcoming recognition of Magen David Adom – comes not a moment too soon. As terrorism becomes a problem for the whole world, the training, expertise and regrettable experience of Israeli aid workers is, unfortunately, needed more than ever. Staff at Magen David Adom, along with their colleagues at Israel’s advanced medical institutions, have helped develop and utilize the best technology for handling mass-casualty events, and can provide expertise to countries unfamiliar with the devastating effects of suicide bombings. At our own Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, our physician/researchers have developed methodologies to lead the way in the treatment of first responders and aid workers who are highly susceptible to post-traumatic stress. In addition, in an irony that escapes most of the rest o the world, we have been training Palestinian Red Crescent emergency workers for years. And as natural disasters strike here in the United States and across the globe, Israel’s experience has been essential. The country has led the world in development of tracing technology that helps reunite families separated by tsunamis and hurricanes through the use of the same enhanced computer technology that has reunited Holocaust survivors. Over the years, Israel has reached out to individual countries in the throes of medical and human disasters. Doctors from Hadassah set up a field hospital in Macedonia during the war in Kosovo, Israel Defense Force units rushed to Kenya in the wake of the bombing of the American embassy, and several years ago Israeli medical teams and earth-moving equipment were on the scene after a devastating quake in Turkey, a largely Muslim country. But, a new era is now afoot, when it will not be necessary for Israel to slip into a country to help while hoping the rest of the world will turn a blind eye. Rather, they will be able to offer their services proudly, under the flag of the International Committee of the Red Cross. There is only one step left to secure that long-delayed right. When the Red Cross societies meet in the spring, they will cast a final vote to formally admit Israel into their membership ranks. We strongly urge the member federations to put aside their differences and vote decisively in favor of Israel’s Magen David Adom. Whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or any other religion, we are people first, and we should always be able to work together for the sake of humanity when disaster strikes. June Walker is national president of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, whose two hospitals and numerous clinics in Jerusalem daily work hand in hand with Magen David Adom. This story may be available for an Adobe Acrobat PDF download. Click on the link below to visit the site download center. If a PDF is available, the file will automatically open in your browser.

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