Arab and Jewish medics unite on frontline of Israel’s virus fight

(FMT) – In Israel, Jewish and Arab doctors have worked side by side on the frontlines of the novel coronavirus fight, also battling entrenched schisms between their communities and stressing their unity in the face of the crisis.

Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, near the city of Tel Aviv, is ranked among the best in the world and its directors say its standing is thanks to a team of Arab and Jewish caregivers working together in a society otherwise marked by divisions.

“We work together with Arab medical staff everywhere and not just in the time of coronavirus. There is no difference between us,” Sheba deputy director emeritus, Rafi Walden, told AFP.

“Without them, the Israeli medical system would collapse.”

Israel’s Arab minority are the descendants of Palestinians who stayed on their land after the creation of Israel in 1948. They make up around 20% of the population, but slightly more of the country’s health care workers.

The community regularly says it faces social discrimination and denounces a law that enshrines the Jewish character of Israel.

But as the Jewish state struggles against the deadly novel coronavirus, the crisis is highlighting the collaborative nature of its health service.

A photo shared widely on social media this week showed two medics pausing to pray in front of their ambulance. One was Jewish – standing and praying in the direction of Jerusalem – and the other a Muslim, who laid out his prayer rug and knelt facing towards Mecca.

Some internet users praised the image published by Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross, the Magen David Adom, as “inspiring” and underscored the need for unity in a crisis.

Others took the opportunity to highlight the inequalities faced by the Arab minority.

According to a 2017 study by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, poverty rates are far higher in Arab neighbourhoods, where the average life expectancy is also four years lower than among Jewish Israelis.