Day After Day: Palestinians Smash Magen David Adom Ambulances

In what has become a daily occurrence, Palestinians are routinely throwing rocks at Magen David Adom ambulances,  smashing windshields and seriously endangering the MDA medical crews. 

Despite that MDA ambulances and medics treat wounded without bias to race or religion, Palestinians target these life saving efforts, even when the wounded are Palestinians.

Over the past few days:

April 2, 2013, 17:15 - Palestinians stone MDA ambulance on the Jerusalem - Hevron highway #60, near the community of Karmei Zur.

April 3, 2013 15:43 - Palestinians stone MDA ambulance on Halhul bypass road, part of the Jerusalem - Hevron highway #60.

April 4, 2013 11:27 - Palestinians stone Neve Zuf community MDA ambulance near the Abud village on road 465.

The dangers of daily Palestinian rock throwing in evident by the ongoing critical condition of 3 year old Adele Biton, wounded by a rock attack which left her critically wounded, and injuring her mother and 2 sisters. (story here)

Just yesterday, The Ofer Base IDF Military Court convicted Waal al-Araja, a member of the Palestinian Authority security forces from Halhoul, of the murder of Asher Palmer and his infant son, Yonatan, in September 2011.  Al-Araja, threw stones from a moving vehicle toward Palmer's car on the Jerualem - Hevron highway 60, causing the father and son's death. (story here)

Photos from Hatzala Yehuda vShomron and some of the story from rotter

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Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

The Second Lebanon War Ribbon

On my way to work this morning, I stopped on the side of the road to help a road accident victim. After we treated him and loaded him onto the ambulance for transport, one of the first responders came over to me and said, "this is for you," and handed me an envelope with my name on it -- the return address was Israel's "Ministry of Defense."

I got into my car and opened the envelope; "This hereby gives you the privilege of wearing the Ribbon of the Second Lebanon War"

My name and ID were printed on the leaflet, and the war ribbon accompanied the leaflet in the envelope.

"Ribbons" are the colorful insignias that soldiers get for a vareity of reasons. In Israel, they are issued after wars. In the US, for a multitude of reasons.

I received this ribbon for serving in the capacity as a Magen David Adom (Israel emergency rescue and medical service) volunteer ambulance driver and medic, during the Second Lebanon War. I posted about it back then, here (with pictures, etc.)

While war ribbons are normally given to combat soldiers, it was decided that for this war, since so many emergency rescue service took part in the war effort, under rocket fire, that they would also be awarded to civilians as well. MDA, the Fire Department, and other emergency service workers and volunteers are receiving it.

The question is: To wear it, or not?

As a whole, Israel did rather poorly in the Second Lebanon War (despite many heroic acts of bravery by outstanding IDF soldiers, and despite the round the clock commitment from MDA, Haztala, and Fire Department workers and volunteers). At the end of the day, we surrendered under fire, pulled out our troops, did not receive our kidnapped soldiers back as part of the negotiated end of battle, and we were left with smug politicians like Ehud Olmert, Tzippi Livni and a "heroic" Chief of Staff who patted themselves on the back that we won the war.

Many combat soldiers felt that giving the "war ribbon" to all IDF soldiers, not just to those on the war front and in combat, but even to IDF office workers in the comfort of Tel-Aviv, was adding insult to the injury of a war without direction, without objectives (actually, none of the stated objectives were met), and a Chief of Staff who cared more about his stock portfolio than the war. (He quietly sold his portfolio in the first hours of the war). Many also thought that emergency crews, despite being under fire, shouldn't get this ribbon. My combat-buddy doubletapper would probably agree this shouldn't be given out so easily.

Will I wear it? Maybe, but I doubt it.

The most important aspect of it all is for my kids to know that in time of crisis, Israel has to bond together, and do what it takes -- be in milluim/IDF reserve duty, driving an ambulance, or volunteering in some capacity.

Shabbat Shalom -- a good weekend to you all.

Jameel.


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Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

MaDA Fashla

MaDA (n) Magen David Adom, organization, Israel emergency medical and rescue. 15,000 nationawide volunteers, 1000 paid employees.

fashla (n) screw up (Hebrew slang)

So my father-in-law sends me an email entitled this morning: "Chovshim, bah" (A Chovesh is an EMT).

Knowing I'm a volunteer EMT, and my 2 oldest kids are spending their summer vacation as Jr-EMTs riding on ambulances, he thought of bringing this story to my attention.

The story is all over Israel; the internet, radio, TV, newspaper.

An 84-year-old man gave emergency personnel a shock Wednesday when he came back to life after being pronounced dead by paramedics [Jameel: Actually, the MDA doctor pronounced him dead] at his Ramat Gan home.

A Magen David Adom ambulance crew was dispatched to the man's house in response to a distress call. After finding no pulse and ascertaining that he was not breathing, the man was pronounced dead.

A short time later, however, a police officer noted that "the corpse is moving his hand."

Police and emergency personnel had received a report Wednesday evening regarding an sick elderly man who lived alone in an apartment in Ramat Gan.

A nearby patrol and the medical crew who entered the home had noticed the elderly man lying motionless in the middle of the living room. They entered the apartment through the window in an attempt to resuscitate the man, who had no pulse.

Medical officials called for the coroner and a doctor, who pronounced the man dead and subsequently signed a death certificate.

After the medical crew left the premises, police began probing the circumstances of the man's death. As forensic investigators scoured the apartment for evidence, a policeman approached the motionless body, which to his amazement began moving its hands. [Haaretz]

Everyone in MDA knows that only a doctor can pronounce someone dead, unless of course, the person is decapitated -- its basic protocol. What happened here I can't tell you, but my kids were very embaressed when they heard the story.

Then again, MDA had another "fashla" in the news yesterday, when they eagerly released a news story that an unborn fetus and umbilical cord were found in a plastic bag in a Herziliya supermarket's parking lot.

After the bag and its contents were sent to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for analysis, the results were announced.

The bag contained...the remains of...


...a banana.

Oooops. A Fashla.

(Hebrew source for Fetal Banana)

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

Humanitarian Settler Hilltop Youth

Last Friday there was a horrendous traffic accident on Road 55 in the Shomron Region of the "West Bank", among the worst I've been at as an EMT first responder.

The call went out that a "minor" accident took place between multiple vehicles, and as I ran to my car to respond, our dispatcher announced that the accident was "upgraded" to "extremely serious."


Red lights flashing, we bypassed the traffic on the road's shoulder, crossed to the opposite lane as IDF soldiers ran ahead of us. A minute later, we pulled over to the side of the road about 20 feet behind the twisted metal hulks -- that minutes ago were cars. [Pictures of the accident and rescue can be seen here]

We checked the contorted victims in one car's backseat with a monitor, and they were all dead. Another car contained 2 who were still alive, yet it was impossible to remove them for transport since the doors were crushed shut.

Help continued to pour in around us. Magen David Adom ambulances, settlement fire trucks, IDF jeeps, Israeli police cars, and first responders from around the Shomron converged on the accident scene.

Did I mention that all those involved in the accident were "Palestinian?"

No, I didn't because we respond to all medical emergency calls, 24 hours a day, regardless who the accident victims are.

Its irrelevant.

As the Israeli firemen frantically used the "jaws of life" to break open the crushed vehicle, Red Crescent ambulances and a Palestinian firetruck arrived as well. Deferring to the more experienced medical personnel of the IDF and Magen David Adom paramedics, the Red Crescent EMTs worked side by side with us to administer treatment to the accident victims.

Speaking in English, Hebrew, and Arabic, a cooperation and professionalism borne from necessity pushed aside any political differences. The Palestinian fire truck connected a tow cable to the crushed car, and pulled it back enough so we could extricate another person from the car.

After loading the person onto an ambulance for transport, I took a step back to survey the scene.

I've been present at accidents before where there was cooperation between Jews and Arabs in the West Bank. This wasn't the first time I've worked side by side with Palestinian Red Crescent EMTs. However, what struck me as unique was the teenage volunteers.

Teenagers in Israel volunteer for a myriad of activities -- among the popular ones in the settlements are Magen David Adom emergency medical service, and the Fire Department's Fire and Rescue service. These teens spend their free time helping others in some of Israel's most mission critical assignments; saving lives.

These teenagers came as part of the ambulance and fire rescue crews and cooperated fully, professionally, and ethically -- as one would expect.

Except.

These same teenagers were the exact same ones on the Outpost hilltops...the Ramat Gilad hilltop I posted about last week. The same teenagers vilified by Israel's Leftist establishment.

The same settler teenagers who build the land and defend the land, are the same ones who save lives...of Jews and Arabs alike.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

Change of Venue

Got a phone call yesterday from the Magen David Adom district dispatcher -- concerning the annual 2 day Emergency Responder/EMT and Ambulance Driver refresher course I'm registered for this coming Sunday and Monday.

"The venue has been changed from Jerusalem, we just wanted to make sure that's ok with you", the caller said.

"OK, where has it been changed to?"

"Ashkelon," the MDA representative told me, "and make sure to bring your ambulance driver's license, as you're all going to be on-call..."

With the sudden increase of rocket attacks from Gaza towards Sederot and Ashkelon, what better way for MDA to prepare, than to move the entire course of over 100 EMTs to Ashkelon?

"Is the convention center in Ashkelon rocket proof?" I asked.

The MDA person had no idea...

Replaying this conversation to my wife, she admonished me. "What a question! You drive everywhere, don't drive a bullet proof car, go all over the country...volunteer up north during the 2cnd Lebanon war, visited non-rocket-proof homes in Gush Katif, and now for MDA, you're suddenly asking if the convention center is rocket proof?!"

She's 100% correct...and I don't know why I asked. Perhaps the media is doing such a fine job of describing how bad it is there, that it subconsciously sinks in.

Rocket proof or not, I'll be there on Sunday. Let's hope its quiet.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד