Israel’s treatment of the wounded from the civil war in Syria has already been reported on, but there is another aspect of this treatment: a project that provides treatment to Syrian children in Israel. They are brought to the border in the middle of the night, taken to hospitals in Israel and usually return to their villages in Syria the same day. “In the past, Israel would have been considered an enemy, but now that it has reached out, most people love Israel,” explains a mother treated in the hospital with her son. “People in the Golan support Israel because Israel treats us, helps us and stands by us.” “The moment they have breakfast, they start to realize that they are not going to be abused here, but on the contrary, it’s about helping them. Only at this point are they really opening up and starting to talk, and suddenly they start to say what they are going through.”
They came here as part of an agency called “Good Neighbor Management,” which was established almost a year and a half ago in cooperation with several civil organizations. It supplies food, diesel, generators, medical equipment, water pipes and survey equipment to Syria as the main focus of the project Medical treatments.
Nearly 1,000 chronically ill children were treated in Israel, while 3,000 Syrians were injured. The logic is clear: a moral imperative, coupled with a need for security: someone whose family or friends were treated in Israel is likely to change their attitude toward the enemy.
