The most powerful weapon we have to achieve understanding between people is quiet diplomacy. You might think that’s a pipe dream given the news we receive from the Middle East, particularly when it comes to the Palestinians and Israelis.
Their dispute has been the subject of more heated discussion and questionable resolutions at the UN and its agencies than any other. It would be easy to assume — and most do — that no end to the conflict is within reach.
But I disagree. I have witnessed first-hand what can be achieved through quiet diplomacy.
What I see today began more than 100 years ago in pre-Mandate Palestine through the activism of Henrietta Szold. She was an American who believed an effective and lasting healthcare service was the key to building interpersonal relationships.
Her self-appointed jurisdiction was Palestine in the early 1900s. Her example is universal and timeless, yet cutting through the competing interests is more difficult today than it has ever been.
Through Szold’s example even the most intractable political and religious conflict can be resolved.
Szold worked with people blighted by poverty and disadvantage and with a barely functioning health system. She lacked the resources to change the first two, but had the will and experience to confront the third. She introduced First World healthcare to the country, which eventually found expression through Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
Her philosophy was simple but far-reaching: healthcare must be available to everyone, irrespective of their gender, religion, nationality, politics or financial status. This became the template for all medical services in Israel and resulted in relationships with the Palestinian community in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
These relationships, mostly under the radar, have resulted in thousands of Palestinian doctors, nurses and therapists being trained at Israeli hospitals. Many return to their own communities to build the health infrastructure. These relationships endure, mainly through patient consultations and professional development. Most people are unaware that the doctors who operate Gaza’s main cystic fibrosis clinic in Gaza City were trained by one of the world’s leading specialists, Eitan Kerem of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. They maintain professional contact with Eitan and his colleagues via Skype and, less frequently, through visits to Israel.
Read the full article by Ron Finkel at The Australian (subscription only).