Precious Life

Precious Life

I was overwhelmed with the emotion in this special story. A journalist in Israel decided to make a film about the Palestinian baby that required major surgery. The baby went to an Israeli hospital from Gaza. The mother stayed with the baby in the hospital. The baby had a genetic problem and was lacking in his immune system. He was in a special isolation ward. The mother had previously lost two of her children due to this genetic factor. The baby, Mohamed, was not expected to live.

Doctor Somech was the most unusual man. He always had a smile on his face. He was positive and supportive to the Palestinian family. He tried to find a suitable donor from the siblings. It was heartbreaking when no match was found. The doctor pursued the search and was determined to help this one child. Blood samples were taken from relatives in Gaza and transported across the checkpoint to the hospital in Israel. Just as the blood samples arrived at the border a suicide bomb exploded at the border. There was much tension throughout the film from a political and medical point of view.

A matching donor was found from a relative living in Gaza. That relative was given permission to cross the check point in order to have the necessary operation to help the baby. She was amazed when she arrived in Israel. She commented on the modern city, the streets and how she had never seen anything like it.

The doctor also pleaded for financial donations. An Israeli offered to pay the total cost. His son had been killed in the war and his payment was to honor the sanctity of life. We never find out who it was but the mother does get to speak on the phone to thank the donor. At one point the mother stated,” The Israelis do strange things for us.”

The photographer journalist is there for the total experience. It was fascinating to hear the discussion between the mother and the journalist. She was telling him the Arab point of view about life and death. She told him of her support for martyrs and suicide bombers.

The journalist spoke of the sanctity of life. For a short time there was tension between them.

Throughout the whole ordeal the parents were there to support the child. They held him and touched him. It was heartbreaking.

While they were in the hospital their doctor from Gaza arrived. His daughter had come to Israel to have shrapnel removed.

There was an irony to the story. A doctor fights against all odds to save one Arab child. After all his effort there was the distinct chance of rejection. Dr Somech told the mother she had to smile. He even took her to see Jerusalem. She had returned to the hospital to give birth to another child. It was important to immediately check if the new baby had the same medical problem. All was well.

During the filming we see the streets of Gaza and get a sense of the conditions faced by the Arabs. We also see the results of the rockets sent into Israel.

This is an amazing story and a fantastic film. I understand it is the foreign film selection from Israel for the Oscars. We will see next week if it is a contender. It was wonderful to see a film that showed Israel in such a positive manner.

The film is dedicated to the financial donor.

Shlomi Elder is the amazing journalist. Dr Raz Somech also was beyond belief. I was speechless when the film was over.