Larry Miller, actor and humorist, was visiting some hospitals in Israel, meeting with terror bombing victims.
Downstairs, before we left, the head of the hospital, an Israeli named Audrey, was showing me the children’s waiting room. I couldn’t help but notice, all around, an Arab woman with her son, an Arab family over there checking in, Arab children playing with the toys while waiting. The doctor saw the look on my face and laughed. “Oh, yes, we treat everyone.”
I guess I was astonished. She just shrugged. “We’re Jews. This is how we live. It’s also for the future. They’re not going anywhere, and we’re not going anywhere. There will eventually be peace. There has to be.” When? A month? A year? A hundred years? More? She didn’t know.
I had to say it. You’re incredible. You take everyone, you treat everyone, no one goes first, no one goes last, you just go in order of who needs help. That’s, like, Mother Teresa stuff.
“We’re not saints, we’re just doing our jobs. It’s not easy, I admit. And it gets hard when they cheer when the bodies are brought in.”
I looked at her. What did you say? She sighed. “Yes, it gets hard when they cheer.”
This was one of the times during my trip when I held up my hands and said, “Stop. Wait.” I turned and walked away to breathe deeply for a minute. I wonder if they’ve restocked that mini-bar. Yeah, probably. It’s a good hotel.
I didn’t meet one Jew the whole trip who didn’t think there would be peace, not one. “We can work it out. We have to. They’re not going anywhere. Neither are we.”
Of course, it gets hard when they cheer.
I guess it does.
(via AVID)
Wow. I don’t know if I should feel overwhelmed by the kindness of the doctor or enraged by the cheers of the vermin celebrating pain and death.
Yes.
They’re so much nicer than us. If it was American wounded getting the cheers on camera there wouldn’t be a Palestinian alive within a thousand miles six months later. And then I’d cheer.