Humanitarian Aid & Bridge to Peace

Rabin Medical Center treats one million patients annually. The hospital staff, comprised of Israeli Jews and Arabs,--numbering 4,500 doctors and nurses—treats all patients equally, Israeli Jews, Arabs and Christians, with the same compassionate care. Rabin Medical Center continues to treat annually thousands upon thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza with hospitalization and ambulatory care. And during the recent war in August, Rabin Medical Center doctors were stationed in the field hospital on the Gaza-Israel border that treated 4,000 wounded Palestinians.

This relationship, based on a shared vision of two democracies that believe in medicine in the service of humanity, supersedes the boundaries of geography and nationality. This hospital truly fulfills Yitzhak Rabin’s dream of coexistence, providing humanitarian aid in places such as India, Haiti, and Africa. Rabin Medical Center also serves as a bridge to peace with Israel’s Palestinian neighbors.

Humanitarian Aid Projects Funded at Rabin Medical Center

Emergency Liver Transplant for Taglit-Birthright Tourist: Miriam Kisishvili, a nineteen-year-old from Georgia (former Soviet Union), was visiting Israel on a Taglit-Birthright tour when she was brought in critical condition to Rabin Medical Center, suffering from a severe liver infection, Wilson’s Disease. Rabin Medical Center immediately called the Prime Minister’s Office and successfully obtained Israeli citizenship for Miriam. Her liver transplant was overseen by the prominent Dr. Eytan Mor, head of the Department of Transplantation.

Rabin Medical Center First to Aid Chernobyl Disaster: Rabin Medical Center has always been committed to national and international humanitarian needs, providing medical expertise and lifesaving care around the globe. In 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union experienced the most severe nuclear leak in history. Rabin Medical Center was one of the first to offer help to radiation victims, ushering in a large group of afflicted children to be treated at our facilities.

Georgian War Victims Treated at Rabin Medical Center: Israel’s Rabin Medical Center has always been willing to help those affected by war. At the request of Israeli Knesset member, Avraham Michaeli, three people wounded in the war in Georgia were flown to Israel and brought to Rabin Medical Center for treatment. When they arrived at Rabin Medical Center, they received the best treatment by the Trauma Team, headed by Dr. Michael Stein. Since the hospital’s establishment over 70 years ago, the hospital has always provided humanitarian assistance and is known for its superior level of medical care, its experience in treating victims of war and disaster and its exceptional National Level One Trauma Center.

Restorative Surgeries for Micronesian & Marshall Island Patients in Need: Many Micronesian and Marshall Island residents can now see again thanks to the recent visit of a team of Israeli ophthalmologists: Dr. Dov Weinberger, director of the Department of Ophthalmology and Dr. Iftach Yasur, director of the Oculoplastics Service. They worked tirelessly to restore sight to local residents and performed over 150 procedures including cataracts, retinol surgery and laser treatments, many relating to diabetes, which is a severe problem in this area. They also demonstrated surgical techniques to local medical teams so that the important work could continue after they departed.

Rabin Medical Center Doctor Corrects Cleft Lip Palates for those in Need: The head of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Burn Unit at Rabin Medical Center, Dr. Dean Ad-El found his way to India to spend two weeks operating on Indian children born with cleft lip palate. These children live in poverty and can’t afford the $250 operation. Without this surgery, they cannot eat or speak properly and face difficult lives filled with shame, isolation, pain and heartache. Dr. Ad-El was happy to volunteer for such an important mission.

Rabin Medical Center Helping Haiti: In January 2010, doctors from Rabin Medical Center joined the Israeli contingent sent to provide emergency medical assistance to the people of Port Au Prince following Haiti’s cataclysmic earthquake. Trained and experienced in handling large-scale traumatic incident, the Israeli team was the first on the ground and the most effective field hospital on the scene. Doctors treated 1,100 patients, conducted 319 successful surgeries and delivered 16 babies while in Haiti.

Bridge to Peace Donor Projects Funded at Rabin Medical Center

Emergency Lung Transplant for Gaza Youth: an 11year old Arab boy from Khan Yunes, in the Gaza Strip, underwent a lung transplant at Rabin Medical Center. Rabin Medical Center is the only medical facility in Israel which performs lung transplantations. He was under the care of Dr. Mordechai Kramer.

Emergency Corneal Transplant: A complicated corneal transplant was performed at Rabin Medical Center on a one-month-old Arab-Israeli baby, Nibal Samech-Samech. She was saved from a life of blindness due to this surgical procedure, which is rarely performed on infants and very few of these procedures have even been carried out. The surgery was performed by Dr. Yisrael Kramer, Dr. Moshe Lusky, and an expert medical team headed by Dr. Dov Weinberger, director of the Institute of Opthalmology at Rabin Medical Center.

Israeli-Arab Female Gynecologist: Dr. Abeer Massarwa has been funded to become one of the first Israeli-Arab female gynecologists. In addition to participating in the entire spectrum of gynecological services and surgeries offered, Dr. Massarwa coordinates the medical services used by the women from Gaza at the Helen Schneider Women’s Hospital at Rabin Medical Center in accordance with Palestinian National Authority Ministry of Health, which is responsible for these patients.

The Druze Community visits Wounded Soldiers at Rabin Medical Center: Leaders of the Druze community from the south of Israel, dressed in traditional garb, visited wounded soldiers at Rabin Medical Center. Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the Druze community, whose culture is Arab and whose main language is Arabic, have served as volunteers in the Israel Defense Forces and the Border Police.

Israeli-Arab Diabetes Clinic: A special satellite diabetic clinic was established in connection with the Jaljulia Clalit Medical Clinic. Jaljulia, a mid-sized village in the center of Israel has a population of over 8,000 people of Muslim Arab descent. As diabetes is prevalent in this community, it is essential to provide more specialized care and raise awareness in relation to this life threatening disease.

Orthopedic Care and Plastic Surgery in Gaza: Dr. Mustafa Yassin, an orthopedist from Rabin Medical Center and Dr. Kassis Shukri, a plastic surgeon from Ziv Medical Center in Safed, worked for two and a half intensive days with a Palestinian medical team at Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s main medical facility. They were able to obtain special entry permits into the Gaza Strip for their critical mission.