“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity” – Psalm 133
Mohammed from Bir Zeit is now almost one month old and has already been through so much. We celebrated last week when he was breathing on his own following his emergency heart surgery in Israel; but this week he was back on the ventilator, because his lungs are still not fully open. He will most likely need another operation.
Throughout all of this, his mother and grandmother have been by his side again and again. We often found them sitting next to him, praying for him, shedding tears, and simply waiting and hoping. It has been a privilege to be there with them during these difficult moments and to support them in whatever small ways we can.
One especially beautiful moment this week was seeing Mohammed wake up.
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Israel goes to the polls one month from today; and as we so often feel in our home countries, for many Israelis too it is “the most important election of our lifetime” and “the last chance to save our nation.”
When will we ever learn that nations aren’t saved by elections? But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Three weeks ago in this letter we considered the small seed of hope in Israel’s declaration of independence, “based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel,” that Arabs and Jews might join hands through the electoral process, and step forward toward the glorious future that Israel is promised by God’s word.
But that seed may well be choked out by those who are instead inciting division. Just today the Israeli finance minister said Israel must go to war in the West Bank, and “do there what we did in Gaza.” Already he is destroying Palestinian schools and hospitals in Judea and Samaria by refusing for the past 16 months to transfer six billion dollars in tax revenues that Israel has collected for the Palestinian Authority.
This actually has been the main activity of our community this year, trying to catch the little ones being left to die without advanced medical care in the West Bank, and get them to Israel. Little Mohammed G., now in the ICU in Israel, is the latest.
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In a tight embrace, a child and his mother clung together as quiet tears streamed down their faces. A stunning example of something so gentle, yet deeply meaningful which points undoubtedly to the tender love of God. This sweet event took place on Thursday morning as Ali, a two-year-old from Hebron, prepared to go into a catheterization.
Ali is no stranger to the hospital as he has had many visits and stays in Israel over his young life already. At five days old he received his first open heart surgery, and a few months later he received his second. This would now be his fourth catheterizations for both diagnostic and interventional purposes as well. Due to his hypoplastic left heart syndrome, he will require another surgery called a Fontan in two years. (His heart defect is so severe, and the course of treatment so difficult, that in many places these children are left to die untreated).
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As the sun set this Yom Kippur eve, the people of Israel entered into 25 hours of afflicting their souls (most are fasting from both food and drink) and seeking atonement for their sins, after a ten-day period of soul-searching and repentance.
Much of the public discourse during these days centered on the new documentary film “NAZA” (a Hebrew acronym for collateral damage) and its claim that the Israeli military, for the first time since independence, has knowingly caused large numbers of civilian deaths in the pursuit of Hamas fighters in Gaza. (Think of our little patient Naim and his mother, sheltering with us in Israel in the first weeks after October 7, receiving the call that all of his siblings were killed when the IDF took down an apartment building full of families in pursuit of a single target).
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Over the last two weeks we’ve shared the saga of tiny infant Mohammad, born with a heart defect which requires intervention in the first few weeks of life. Since the hospital near his home in Ramallah couldn’t complete such an operation, it was absolutely necessary for him to be brought into Israel.
The transfer process was highly difficult. While work was being done day and night to ensure Mohammad would be allowed to cross the borders, he was fighting to live.
For nearly a week after arrival at the Sheba Medical Center he remained on a ventilator, while doctors performed a number of tests and took images to gain clarity on what exactly needed to be done in the surgery. After what seemed like endless waiting, the doctors finally shared that they planned to perform the operation on Wednesday afternoon.
With tears in her eyes, Mohammad’s mother bid goodbye to her son, and surrendered him into the hands of God. Four and a half hours later, we saw a team of doctors wheeling out Mohammad who was sleeping peacefully on his bed. Seeing her son alive, Mohammad’s mother was filled with so much joy and cried happy tears of relief.
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In the middle of the night in the US Wednesday I cried out to the Lord in pain and frustration. Three-week-old Mohammed was on a ventilator in Ramallah, needing urgent heart surgery unavailable in the West Bank, and for two days had been denied permission to reach the hospital in Israel.
The Israeli permit coordinator became upset with us in July after we took home from the hospital the grieving young parents of Reda, carrying the body of their firstborn son, rather than waiting hours for an ambulance transfer. When we informed him afterward, the coordinator said this was illegal; we were ready to respect this, but last week two other Palestinian families followed our example and also took in their own vehicles their children who had died. Now as a consequence Mohammed’s path to life was blocked.
I couldn’t understand or accept this, and thought the solution was to expose the hardness of heart of the coordinator. For hours I’d been texting journalists in Israel and anyone else I thought could intervene, to no immediate avail. As a last resort I gave it up, with tears, to our Father in heaven.
And he showed me, against my own inclination, what I should have already known from the words of Messiah: that I must first take the beam out of my own eye, humble myself, and write to the coordinator committing to do all we could to prevent further unauthorized transfers.
Praise God, the next day Mohammed arrived safely to the Sheba Medical Center in Israel:
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Little Samer, who’s spent all five of his years living in an orphanage in Bethlehem, came bravely to Israel on Tuesday to face open-heart surgery. Understandably he was quite nervous coming in, but was quickly surrounded by a great deal of care from many people.
The story of his life spread rapidly among the staff at Sheba hospital, and everyone who heard it reacted with so much love. Some women at the cardiology desk immediately offered him some candy, and once he was admitted to the ICU, all the doctors and nurses flocked to say hello and make him feel comfortable.
As a cherry on top to all of this, the kind ICU Dr. Evyatar asked the owner of a hospital therapy dog to pop in for a visit. Samer absolutely loved the dog, although he was a little bit unsure at first.
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For nearly three long years we’ve mourned the growing division between Jews and Arabs in the land of Israel. It seemed the Hamas massacre had quashed the hope of brotherly relations between the ancient sons of Abraham.
But this week the counteroffensive began. Like the kingdom of God, it looked small and insignificant at first. A Jewish Zionist, a well-respected former police commander, announced he would run for the Knesset next month on the list of an Arab Muslim party. There’s never been anything like this in Israeli politics. And those with ears to hear know this is a seismic shift.
Of special note to our community is the source of inspiration for the bold move of this Jewish commander. "The future model for the State of Israel that I see before me is a model familiar to anyone who enters the doors of an Israeli hospital. There, a person sheds the narratives and identities they carry. There, first and foremost, human beings meet. Patients, doctors, nurses, administrative staff, families — everyone is equal."
Yes friends, this is the same picture which we see and share with you week by week, and year by year. What happens when Jews and Arabs meet in the hospitals in Israel is indeed a future model, a foretaste of the coming kingdom of heaven:
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Just before Shabbat began here in the land, we received a text and a phone call from the hospital. Montaser went to be with the Lord. His body went into cardiac arrest as everything was too much for him to handle.
This loss is deeply devastating for so many who knew and loved this young boy. Even more so, the grief of this family is unimaginable. I have never seen such deep love for a child as this entire family has shown time and time again. Our hearts break for his family. Please join us in surrounding them in prayer as they walk through this inconceivably difficult time of loss.
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Little Montaser lives next to one of the most violent West Bank outposts, which has been evacuated 65 times by the IDF. He’s now in the hospital in Israel, with unstable oxygen levels. And after some significant support received in recent days, we see that he needs just $2000 more for his big heart surgery scheduled for this week:
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The heart surgery of Anas, which should have only lasted five hours, went on for almost 15 hours. Ever since, this precious child from the West Bank has been in critical condition in the ICU in Israel. He has been intubated, on dialysis, with an open chest for over a week. His kidneys have failed, his liver has failed, and his hands and feet have turned a deep blue color because of an extreme lack of circulation. He is teetering on the edge of life and death.
We praise God that Anas is still alive and fighting. We praise God that Anas’ heart function is now good. We praise God that the doctors are working hard day and night for Anas. We praise God for Anas’ parents who stay faithfully with him.
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On Tuesday precious, shy, mischievous, blue, frail Montaser from Bethlehem is finally coming back to Israel for heart surgery, two years after his last one. We love his humble and sincere family, and simply cannot be quiet as their son is failing. So we’ll share with you tonight that $15000 is still needed to cover our share of his hospital costs: https://shevet.org/?p=128335
Elisa and I were pleasantly surprised when a Palestinian father and his young daughter approached us and asked if we were with Shevet Achim. We soon had an unexpected new patient! Precious Watar, a seven-year-old girl from Hebron, had no one to help her gain admittance to the echocardiogram clinic in Israel.
It so happens that Watar’s father is an incredibly gifted oud player and singer, and brought his oud to the hospital. As an act of gratitude, he delighted us with his music. We sat in the echo clinic as he played and sang. A few doctors even gathered around:
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This week in Jerusalem we buried David, the only child of our founding board member Jim and his wife Leslie. David grew up in Israel, and had only recently found the cause he wanted to give the rest of his life to. He joined an Israeli group called the Jordan Valley Activists, as they went out to place their bodies between some of our Arab neighbors and some of our Jewish neighbors who were attacking them.
Such intercession is costly. David took a rifle butt to the head, that left him wounded (also in spirit) and ultimately back in the US. A lifelong competitive swimmer, his body was found in Lake Michigan under circumstances still unclear.
At the cemetery this week, the thought came that this really was a cause worth giving one’s life to. It’s not just political activism. It’s the battle for the core truth that all the New Testament revolves around: the inclusion of non-Jews as full and equal recipients of the promises of God.
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We had the delight of walking out of the hospital with Bairam and his parents after his heart surgery in Israel, and transporting them to their home in Jericho. Little did we know that the best was yet to come. Upon approaching their home, one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever witnessed occurred.
Bairam, with a huge smile, had tears streaming down his face. His mother told us that he was beyond overjoyed at returning home. As we got out of the car the tears continued as their family ran to meet him, weeping with joy at his return home:
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While waiting for an echocardiogram with Nihal from Hebron, it was lovely to have a sweet interaction with a Jewish family at the hospital who were waiting for their appointment. The Jewish family had a daughter who kept coming to high-five Nihal, her mother, and me. We spoke with their family for some time, and it was such a blessing to witness a Jewish and Muslim family laughing together and sharing in conversation. God is healing the Abrahamic family moment by moment.
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10-year-old Bairam from Jericho was born with only one ventricle in his heart, and has already undergone several open-heart surgeries; this week marked his first visit to Israel for treatment not available in the West Bank. His mother was anxious, and it was a privilege to pray with her and ask the Lord for peace and for Bairam’s operation to go well. After more than six hours in surgery, God answered those prayers!
The operation was successful, his chest was closed, and soon afterward Bairam was opening his eyes, responding to his mother’s voice, and even breathing on his own:
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Three years ago tonight a day-old baby girl named Abeer was rushed out of Gaza to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, for emergency surgery to switch her great arteries. We didn’t know at the time that we were just two months away from the October 7 war that would cut off all access to Israel for Gazans; now all the newborns there like Abeer who need emergency heart surgery are dying.
Tonight we gathered to celebrate Abeer’s third birthday, and the anniversary of her arrival in Israel; she and her father were still in the hospital in Israel on October 7, and since her discharge have been sheltering in Bethlehem.
Truly a candle in the darkness. We thanked God together tonight for the miracle that Abeer is alive.
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Layan was born in Hebron three weeks premature, and came to Israel at the end of June only a few days old. She had multiple congenital heart defects which required surgery almost immediately, and has been recovering for a few weeks now and has shown great improvement. Before she can go home, the two goals the doctors set for Layan were to bottle feed, which she has achieved, and to weigh two kilograms (4.4 lbs), which she is on the cusp of finally reaching. Lord willing, this sweet baby and her loving mother will return to their home this coming Sunday or Monday.
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Jews and Muslims live side by side in the land, and are increasingly strangers to each other. And the precise calling of our community is to put them in front of each other, to let them look the stranger in the eye and–with shock–recognize a brother.
It happened again this week, when Reda’s desperate young Palestinian parents saw a dozen of Israel’s leading doctors gathered around the bedside of their firstborn son, fighting for his life. After Reda died in the ICU, his father insisted on gathering the doctors before he left. He wanted to thank them for the way he’d seen them care for his son; he even asked them to forgive him for putting them through so much trouble.
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“Will you help us?”
Few of us know how to respond to a request like that. But we found if one person will hear that question–and then pray, give whatever they have, and share the child’s story–our Father will form a rescue community that unites all kinds of people around the shared goal of saving a child’s life. And doctors and hospitals in Israel are ready to partner with us and take more than half of the costs on themselves.
Click on the pictures below to meet the children whose parents are asking the same question today: “Will you help us?”
