one saturday during my pediatrics clerkship i was able to go into the west bank on a mobile clinic day with physicians for human rights – israel (phr-i). phr-i is an ngo that sends volunteer israeli physicians to do clinics in the west bank, has a free clinic in tel aviv for migrants without healthcare coverage, and sends physicians to check on prisoners – especially palestinian political prisoners – in israeli prisons. their overall goal is to see the israeli occupation of the palestinian territories end, a goal which i wholeheartedly support. the reality is that human rights violations and unacceptable disparity in access to basic healthcare will always exist in palestine as long as there is a military occupation. many accuse the group of political action under the guise of medical assistance, but many others realize that the fight for basic human rights for all is far more important than which geopolitical side you happen to be supporting. the occupation is bad for palestinian’s health – therefore as physicians we have an obligation to try to end it, end of story. politics and human rights are not mutually exclusive in this part of the world. many of the volunteer physicians go to the clinics in the west bank not because the palestinians particularly need a free clinic, but out of solidarity. they feel that the occupation is a disgrace and is ruining people’s lives, and they want as many palestinians as possible to know that there are israelis who also want it to end. they want to see the palestinian’s faces, and they want palestinians to see their faces. they want to humanize the conflict. they want to do something.
i am picked up in downtown tel aviv on a rainy saturday morning by a spunky elderly woman driving a rusted out volkswagon golf. though she is not a healthcare professional, she volunteers every saturday at the clinic, which is in a different town in the west bank each week. promptly, the car stalls, and won’t start. she starts freaking out, and we try getting the car to start for about 45 minutes to no avail. i say a little prayer and the car starts! i’m not going to claim it was a miracle, but i have no doubt that God is happy that these clinics are happening. then, it was off to the border, where we meet up with a group of about 20 physicians and take a minibus into the west bank.
while i go to the palestinian controlled areas (area a) of the west bank all the time, it is technically illegal for israelis. when they do enter as groups, it is almost always under the “protection” of the army. of course, phr-i refuses such “protection” (it would likely never be provided in the first place), as it is precisely what they view as the problem. israelis in area a are well received without a military escort – having one would indeed likely make things more dangerous. it is interesting to chat with the physicians about what other israelis, including their own families, think of their volunteering in the west bank. one doctor goes to the clinics in defiance of his wife’s wishes. she also wants the occupation to end but is legitimately scared for his life. like almost all israelis, she has never been to area a. the doctor rants about the ignorance of most israelis who, if they think about the west bank at all, think of it as a hell-hole that the army needs to control. these are typical israelis in tel aviv, not the settlers. we don’t even need to talk about the settlers. we talk politics, and we agree. this is the first time i’ve ever agreed with an israeli about politics. we start talking about traveling, and i tell him about my trip to lebanon. i’ve never talked to an israeli about lebanon before. he loves it. he would love to go to lebanon if he could.
we go to the town of attil north of tulkarm. we arrive and the town mayor gives a big speech as the group of doctors from israel sit shivering, drinking cardamom-laced arabic coffee beneath a giant photo of yasser arafat. it is honestly beautiful. these two groups of people are supposed to hate each other. no israeli in their right mind likes yasser arafat. but when we choose to swallow our pride, the hate dissipates, and we find ourselves welcomed. hate is often for policies, not people. phr-i is welcomed with open arms by the leadership of every palestinian town they have ever gone to. i spend the day mostly looking into children’s ears with a pediatrician.
the executive director of phr-i, a bro named ran cohen, comes along to hang out at the clinic that day. really cool guy. big white-man afro. gives me numerous high fives. he is at the forefront – indeed phr-i is in many ways the vangaurd – of the “leftist” human rights movement in israel. you know there is something wrong with the perspective of most of society if the fact that you support human rights automatically makes you a “leftist.” the israeli knesset (parliament) is trying to pass a law that would ban ngo’s that are anti-nationalist. this is widely perceived to be an attack on ngo’s that oppose the occupation. ran cohen is the real patriot, fighting for what is right whatever the government legislates. remember, all these israeli physicians are breaking the law just by coming to these clinics in area a. i love it! i give him another high five, just because i can. he’s quoted in news publications all the time. his girlfriend is cool too. she directs documentaries.
at the checkpoint on the way out of the west bank, our minibus is stopped and the young israeli soldier asks the one muslim woman on the bus with a higab to step outside the bus for further questions. this woman is a speech pathologist who lives in israel and was translating for the physicians. racial profiling happens all the time, and one typically just begins to acquiesce to it. but not on this minibus. ran cohen announces that if they need to question the woman in the higab further, they’ll need to question all of us. we all get off the bus. ran has a good long talk with the soldier. it is inspiring to see israelis who care about these issues. in israel, these are my people.