May the New Year
bring to all our friends
and family
health, joy, prosperity and
everything good in life.
Rosh Hashanah
Release Gilad from page 60
Indirect negotiations between Israel
and Hamas for Gilad Shalit's release
resumed recently in Cairo, Shalit said,
but he remains pessimistic.
"The new Egyptian administration
has taken the lead again:' Shalit said.
"It is now new people, but Egyptians
are the same. We need to urge the
Egyptians to move on fast and effec-
tively; we don't have another three
years to spend with negotiations:"
At the United Nations, Shalit's focus
was the Palestinian Authority. He said
he met with more than a dozen U.N.
ambassadors to urge them to block
any statehood recognition until his
son is free. Of particular importance,
Haredi, Arab Save Lives Together
The Board of Directors, Volunteers and Staff of
Akiva Novick
Yad Ezra
YNet News
thank our Jewish community for its
generous support in assisting us
alleviate hunger.
A
Your help makes a tremendous difference in the lives
of those most vulnerable.
Best wishes for a healthy. happy and
peaceful new year!
1701020
as&na
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness.
L'Shanah Tovah!
Judge Susan Moiseev
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
IIShanah Tovah!
Sandy & Bill Lefkofsky
their children & grandchildren
62
September 22 w 2011
iN
he said, were his meetings with coun-
tries that already have recognized the
state of Palestine, such as Argentina.
"We are not dealing with politics:'
Shalit told JTA. "We are not ask-
ing them to vote for or against a
Palestinian state. We just believe that
a first step, as a precondition, they
should comply with international
law."
The leaders of the world, he said,
have to tell the Palestinians, "Look,
you cannot go on with this violation
of international and humanitarian
law and at the same time ask for
legitimacy and recognition. It is very
basic. They don't go together" Li
n Arab and a haredi are
riding a motorbike." No,
this is not the beginning
of a joke.
The story of Fadi Bahir and Hezy
Roth can definitely be adapted into a
feature film: Imagine an ultra-Ortho-
dox man dressed in black, enter-
ing an Arab neighborhood in east
Jerusalem in order to save someone's
life. Hours later, an Arab man runs
into the heart of the haredi neigh-
borhood of Mea Shearim in order to
provide medical care.
This is their story. Hezy and
Fadi volunteer together at United
Hatzalah, an emergency medical ser-
vices organization similar to Magen
David Adorn. Hezy is a resident of
Mea Shearim, while Fadi lives in the
Arab neighborhood of At-Tur.
Arabs residents from east
Jerusalem have recently begun vol-
unteering at United Hatzalah, joining
the organization's 1,800 volunteers
— most of them haredim. The
Arab volunteers help mostly in Arab
neighborhoods, which the Jewish
volunteers are often afraid to enter.
One of the new volunteers, Fadi
Bahir, asked to work with a haredi
volunteer. He teamed up with Hezy
Roth, and together they tour
Jerusalem's haredi neighborhoods
and visit the nearby Mount of Olives,
which At-Tur is built upon.
Hezy comes from his fish shop,
and Fadi from his work as a mainte-
nance man at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"This whole issue is really insane,'
Fadi says, smiling. "I'm approached by
people in the middle of Mea Shearim,
asking me for help. I have found
myself more than once, with or with-
out Hezy, in the middle of a yeshivah
— performing resuscitation:'
EMS volunteers of Fadi Bahir and
Hezy Roth.
It turns out that the Arab and
haredi streets have quite a lot in
common. The massive Magen David
Adorn ambulances find it difficult to
make their way between the alleys
and are not familiar with the loca-
tion of houses, and paramedics are
sometimes afraid of visiting hostile
places.
This is where the interfaith team
comes in: They don't need any police
escort, and can easily find their way
on their motorbikes.
"It can sometimes take an ambu-
lance 50 minutes to arrive,' says Fadi.
"The person can die 10 times on the
way. Take (the east Jerusalem village
of) Silwan, for example. There are no
addresses or number there'
And Hezy adds, "When a person is
in danger, he doesn't care who saves
him. This connection seems com-
pletely natural to us, but we're each
considered 'weirdos' in each other's
neighborhoods."
"Fadi and Hezy are proof that
engaging in saving lives overcomes
politics," says United Hatzalah
President Eli Beer.
"Because we are an operational
lifesaving organization, which is
always prepared for emergencies, we
know that a united front is required
to serve the Israeli public in the best
way possible' I. I