With the help of the Jewish-American organization “Amaliah” and in coordination with the Israeli army, 42 children and their parents have been brought from Syria to Israel for much needed medical treatment at hospitals in Safed (Tzfat) and Nahariya.
The children come from the area of Quneitra in southern Syria, which has been hit hard by their country’s ongoing civil war.
This is not the first time Israeli hospitals have aided Syrian civilians, including children. But until now, aid of this kind has always been paid for by the Israeli taxpayer.
The current operation marks the first time that the funding for Israeli aid to Syrians has come from donors, mainly from the American Jewish community.
American-Israeli businessman Moti Kahana, the president of Amaliah, the organization that facilitated the donations, had this to say:
“These children have not seen a hospital for five years. The goal of our organization is to help the Syrians on the other side of the border to be able to help themselves. We can be proud of what our country… [Israel] is doing, something that no other country is doing” to help the Syrians.
After treatment in the hospitals, the children spend several days on a kibbutz in northern Israel. They also receive aid packages with food, medicine, and toys to take back to Syria.
Originally posted at Israel Today Magazine.
