Purely Commentary Israeli Aids Vietnam Wounded
By MILTON FRIEDMAN
By Philip Slomovitz
(Copyright, 1967,
JTA,
Inc.)
WASHINGTON — United States
soldiers burned in Vietnam are be-
ing treated here at Walter Reed
Hospital by a skilled Israeli Army
surgeon, Lt. Col. Ami Giladi, who
helped heal Israeli troops wounded
by napalm during the Sinai-Suez
war of 1956.
The Israeli colonel was not al-
Russian Jewry especially will be in our thoughts. While there ways a physician. A soldier of the
are reports from the Soviet Union that matzot again will be available Hagana and the fame-'. "Givati"
for all who desire unleavened bread in observance of Passover, there brigade in 1948, he rose to the
is skepticism whether Jews will have the freedom to observe the rank of captain. He saw men suf-
festival and also whether application for matzot will be met with fer and die. Now Dr. Giladi is so
the courtesies that are orderly elsewhere.
troubled by the horrendous effects
A question now posed is with regard to the kinship between of napalm that he has made
Russian and world Jewries. It has been asked whether we are known his willingness to take a
forgetting the Jews under the Soviets. The Empty Chair, the Matzo voluntary Israeli medical team to
of Remembrance in tribute to the Jews of Russia are symbols of Vietnam if such aid were request-
identification. Yet. the question is posed, In a sensational book, ed by Saigon — but only to treat
-Between the Hammer and Sickle," by Ben Ami (pseudonym for a civilian victims, whether pro-Sai-
Jewish writer who is an authority on conditions in Russia), this gon. pro-Viet Cong, or merely in-
question is posed: "Why Have You Forgotten Us?" Under this title nocent bystanders. The doctor is
tormented by the knowledge that
Ben Ami related the following:
although the troops get treatment,
Whilst walking, we feel hundreds of eyes following ns and thousands of women and children
many of them Jewish eyes. (This you should know: in the USSR are dying without adequate care
after a short time an uncanny sixth sense develops helping you
for napalm burns.
to distinguish your brothers by their eyes.)
Dr. Giladi's concern, as a hu-
Suddenly a Jew gets up from a park bench and approaches manitarian raised in the Sabra tra-
you with quickened gait and casually, as if asking the time, dition, is such that he hopes to
rebukes you with: "Why have you forgotten us?" You reply initiate in Israel a "Burn Center"
casually without changing step (as if you might say, "It's 5 modeled after the U.S. Army's
o'clock chum") giving the longed-for answer—"We have not Brooke Hospital in Texas. No one
forgotten you." That's it. The Jew goes back to the park bench knows where the finances would
and you continue your way along the promenade.
come from. But Dr. Giladi is pain-
If perchance you should repeat the story to any one who has fully aware of the nature of the
visited the Soviet Union be will smile strangely and say: "Funny, latest technological refinements of
that's just what happened to me at the Kiev Railway Station or man's inhumanity to man. He wants
at the Tashkent Airport." Another tourist might say that a Jew to prepare for treatment of Is-
asked him that at the Gorki Park Exhibition—and another, that raelis should the Near East be
he was asked this at the Bolsboi Theater.
turned into another Vietnam and
pitiful burn victims cry out for
And you think: that Jew and the others like him are like the
help.
proverbial Wandering Jew, running from town to town, from
In 1956, Dr. Giladi was the first
train to plane, from festival to theater, and he succeeds in
cornering Jews from "out there" and to all of them poses Israeli Army physician to reach
the
Suez Canal zone. He also help-
the same question: "Why have you forgotten us?"
ed save the lives of wounded
From
.
m
th
p th
ro e Contingent
tin
w
afh ga et nt to the Moscow
Egyptian soldiers as a surgeon at
. as proof
Russia, the captured Egyptian military hos-
this depressing story entitled "The Boy Called Israel":
pital at El -Arista. He later became
everyone chief surgeon of the Israel Army
evening
the front
goes home to supper, the crowd thins out At the side, standing Southern Command. At Beersheba
in the shade of the trees are a Jewish woman and her son. be opened the Negev Central. Hos-
She stops a group of young people hastening on their way. They pital in 1960. Israeli Bedouin Arabs
know Dr. Giladi as the man who
cannot but halt. She has a humble request:
healed many burned by the primi-
You see this lad—his name is Israel. Ah, he must pay
tive Negev camp fires.
heavily for his name. Radio Moscow shoots its barbs at Israel
The medical skills that made
and the tiny tots take it out on little Israel. For the sins of
Dr. Giladi the Deputy Surgeon-
Israel—Israel is punished. She would plead with him: Let's
General of the Israel Army are
change your name until the fury subsides—they are children and
being used at Walter Reed to re-
know not what they do. But the lad remains undaunted. His
habilitate some of the most pa-
dead Daddy had called him Israel and that he would remain
thetic burn casualties of service
till his last day. She has no choice but to give in to his stubborn-
in Vietnam. Dr. Giladi's profi-
neos. lie is punished in the name of Israel. swallows the insults
ciency in restorative plastic sur-
and endures his suffering. She cannot bear it but he will not
gery has been recognized by
listen to her.
senior U.S. Army surgeons in
And now, holiday time has come. She has carefully saved
the course of his unique service
so that they could go away for a hcliday. She has suggested:
as the only Israeli Army sur-
- let's call you something else at least whilst we are at the holiday
geon to wear the surgical gown
camp. Have a rest and then you can be called Israel again "
el the U.S. Army.
But he remains unmoved.
Dr. Giladi has treated not only
hate brought him." she concludes. -so that you can tell
napalm victims. accidentally
him ,on will not be angry if he takes another name—at least
wounded by their own air support,
at the holiday camp. -
but also the typical Viet Cong-in-
RaNen black hair, sparkling dark eyes. thick myopic lenses. flicted high velocity wounds from
a 1? year old with a face of a philosopher.
gunshot shrapnel. and mines. He
He gives us such a look that net one of us dares to suggest was sent to the United States by
the Israel Army to join the surgi-
that he relinquish the name of Israel.
cal research unit at Brooke Hospi-
:`es: fa..71s to light, we assu.-e the ceremonial display tal. Fort Slot Houston. Texas.
Fj
of
.7.11:z.-, as a
:f ca.ilins anennoo :o the sans of Russian •
o eury.
The Russian Empty Chair
Passover's approach compels the Jewries in lands of freedom
to think of their kinsmen in areas where the festival's observance
is marred by handicaps caused by discrimination. There will be an
empty chair at the seder for the Jews of Russia, the celebrants will
be concerned about the status of Jews in Moslem countries and
tribute again will be paid in special prayers in memory of the victims
of Nazism.
the Jewish Puhlicatior. So.::-.•ty will issue
NV an,:
altom
Fe:-. Amt's - Fe:steer_ the Harnme.r and Sickle." W.:: serce to
awakes: SE7ILT.entS in behalf of the Jews under the Soviets, and.
hoPefo."-o. whatever discriminadow exist may be removed. This is
k.irm-•nem as we prepare to usher in
the r 71:. er of Russian
the F ass-o er.
•
•
•
A Philatelist Exposes Nazi Trends
ate
A Detr::: ph. test Eric Lind. has gathered a mass
of_..
the
'to ;rove :Sat the Nan =ends have not abated in Germany
pao: few weeks be has corooiliod data to show that ariti-Jewi&It
to
are being circulated and are sung
that
1:7-3i
that novels withNan theme, g..7:orifyirig
in man.,
sel:ers. and that 7-e•Zisrdir_g_S 'With pot-
=tt:- .C . s
are
hiGeo theses are freely displayed and have Large saes
of w`l.at is nets-ez.-.&::
--=-a: cis material shows that
s
in new gars: now repeats the sitars of the pas-- He doesn't ■ try
`'non do are logical_
be =cooly says -beorare"—and
- wolf-.
",- "e old Nan
l`.' if the new
soora co--oe be rev-toea pooves able to nooses: the hatreds of the
the
C.eo-r---ar. body
Tao: and we out the poisa. that peneorated hoz,
;Koss:tile oa ao'oce an a zirode of .adman for a to-air
in the land that =take the
t. _roar_ oro-at✓ and
of hate not only for Jews but for all nor:-C-ermans..
•.,-asaka a
2 :friary, AprU 14, 1%7
THE DETROIT JEWISH MRS;
--
JWV Criticizes Dr. King
on Issue of Vietnam
WASHLNGTON (JTA) — The
Jewish War Veterans of the U.S k.
Sharply motacmed Dr. Martin
Luther rising for equating Amer-
l='s defense of Vietnam with
abhorrent Na.„ practices during
World War IL
.TYST National Commander Mal-
collo-. A. Tar:o: referred r..-"ecifically
Kin's likening the use of
new weapons in V.:cu.- am to the
Nod expeo-imeroadon with new
medicines aosa tortures oa concen-
=anon camp inmates.
- It is nr.e.oly Loa-sedilile that Dr.
in s cleoo=ciarloo. of our goy-
;
e..---azot should moan:les" itself in
Foch. an and
Tarlor said, •
m a speech made by
Do. King. 'We do not argue Dr.
right to dissent on this
ire. but we ew....ider his extrem-
io: tirade th reveal as io....s—aooce of
the facts.'
-
which has become the world's most
advanced center for treatment of
napalm and other burns.
Patients at Brooke are flown
directly from the air evacuation
hospitals in Vietnam. Most would
have died of their insidious burns
if not for the special techniques
perfected at Brooke in response to
the present conflict Men with
burns covering as much as 60 to
70 per cent of their bodies are
literally resurrected by plastic sur-
gery.
After eight months of intensive
work on restorative plastic surgery
at Brooke, Dr. Giladi was awarded
a U.S. Army certificate from the
staff expressing appreciation "of
outstanding service to the unit and
the U.S. Army Medical Service."
He was elected an honorary mem-
ber of the Military Surgeons of the
United States.
Dr. Giladi then followed his pa-
tients to Walter Reed in Washing-
ton, to continue the reconstructive
surgery started in Texas. The
young American soldiers reminded
him of the boys of the Givati Bri-
gade and of the Israel Army of
1956 and today. Their quiet cour-
age was the same.
Dr. Giladi's dream is of an
Israeli center for treatment of
serious burns. Patients could be
brought from all over Israel by
helicopter. Victims of highway,
industrial, and kibutz accidents
could be saved—along with Is-
raeli soldiers, sailors and air-
men. Research could be done on
skin substitution and the latest
techniques perfected by the U.
S. Army used as a basis for fur-
ther research. The knowledge
gained could be shared with the
United States and all nations.
Meanwhile, the center would be
a precautionary step to heal vic-
tims of a possible war. Young
Israeli physicians, now tempted
away from Israel by the "brain
drain," would find a fascinating
new research undertaking.
The problem is to find the mod-
est financing required. All nations
spend more readily for weapons
systems than for medical facilities,
it seems to some of those concern-
ed with healing the victims.
Dr. Giladi was warmly welcom-
ed by his American colleagues. He
is deeply impressed by American
military medicine. "But," he sad-
ly added, "I only hope the Viet-
namese civilian population could
benefit from similar treatment to
the extent needed."
A native of Tel Aviv, the doctor
was born in 1929. He is a distant
relative of the founders of Kfar
Giladi, an early settlement that
bears his family's name.
As a soldier who became a phy-
sician, Dr. Giladi is still fighting.
His Sabra spirit and native "hutz-
pa" do not let him rest when it
is possible to help more people, re-
gardless of nationality, recover
from burns and pain not too dif-
ferent from the afflictions suffer-
ed by his fellow Jews during
World War IL
Boris Smolar's
'Between You
.. and Me'
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1967, JTA, Inc.)
POLITICAL NOTES: A tug of war has been going on quietly be-
tween New York Sen, Jacob Javits and the State Department over
a more active policy by the United States with regard to the Arab-
Israel issue . . Sen. Javits is of the opinion that the United States
must undertake an effective and major effort to achieve true peace in
the Middle East . , He had suggested to Secretary of State Dean
Rusk that the United States demand a great power conference within
the framework of the United Nations, and that this conference should
include the Arab states and Israel . . . Such a conference — which
Javits says should not be subverted by a Soviet veto—could face up
to the basic causes of the Middle East unrest, including the arma-
ment race between the Arab countries and Israel . . . He also re-
quested that the State Department should explore ip depth and in
detail the question of expanding the United Nations Emergency Force
which has been effectively preserving border tranquility between
Egypt and Israel, but is not stationed along other Arab-Israeli fron-
tiers .. . The United States today pays more than 40 per cent of the
costs of this UN force and could thus play a major role in initiatives
in regard to this matter, the New York Senator emphasized in his
presentation to Secretary Rusk . . Sen. Javits raises also some
questions about the Palestine Liberation Army which is dedicated to
the destruction of both Israel and Jordan . . He wants to know
what steps the United States is taking to stop the giving of United
Nations food rations and other supplies to members of this terrorist
army at a time when the U.S. provides 65 per cent of the UN budget
for maintaining Arab refugees . . .
•
•
•
WASHLNGTON ARGUMENTS: The arguments which the State
Department advances in reply to Sen. Javits' requests are based pri-
marily on the stand of the Soviet Union and the Arab states towards
these requests . . . The State Department admits that the use of the
veto by the Soviet Union at the United Nations is preventing the
Security Council from acting impartially in cases involving Israel and
the Arab countries ... It makes it clear that the United States would
be in favor of a great power conference for peace in the Middle East,
but it doubts whether such a conference could be called, and, if called,
would stand any chance of achieving constructive results . . . The
State Department believes that the Arabs would oppose such a con-
ference because of their refusal to recognize the State of Israel ...
Regarding the proposal for an expansion of the UN Emergency Force
on Arab-Israel borders, the State Department takes the view that
such a proposition would encounter "major difficulties" both of a
political and financial nature . . . Secretary Rusk does not believe
that Israel would permit the stationing of UN forces on its territory,
that Syria and Jordan would hardly be willing to have UN military
units on their borderland ... As to the financial difficulties for such
an. expansion. he doubts whether the United Nations will be able to
raise the funds needed to patrol the entire border between Israel and
all her Arab neighbors .. Sen. Javits feels, however, that with the
forthcoming withdrawal of the British forces from Middle East bases,
no time should be lost to prevent the possibility of a renewed Arab-
Israel war - . . He therefore urges that the State Department give
utmost consideration to the calling of a new Tripartite Conference
of Britain and France--similar to the one held in 1950 at which
the three powers should reaffirm their commitments to maintain the
security of the countries of the Middle East . . . However. Secretary
Rusk sees no need for a new Tripartite Conference—not even for a
new declaration by the three powers assuring the independence and
territorial integrity of the lands in the Middle East . . . He believes
that the old tripartite declaration is good enough even today.