Jerusalem, Day Three

 Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Another busy day had us with four activities, starting at 8:15 after breakfast.  Our first stop was at the Israel Trauma Coalition where we had a talk from a truly remarkable woman named Talia, the director.  The coalition was founded in 2001, during the second intifada to coordinate all the NGOs and other agencies providing mental health care to those in need.  It has expanded, with a focus on preparation for the emotional and psychological traumas of mass casualties and became an essential resource during Covid and the increasing terrorist attacks around that time.  They work on anxiety and grief, support caregivers, fight compassion fatigue, and teach coping skills.  They run 13 “resilience centers” around the country and work with local governmental agencies to prepare for disaster trauma.  Prior to October 7 they had 5000 people matched with therapists, and after October 7 they were responsible for taking mental health workers and training them in the skills needed for support and therapy of 20,000 victims of trauma.  They work to ensure the mental health of first responders, and they have helped with natural and man-made disasters in many countries, in Pittsburgh after the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre and most recently in Ukraine. 

Talia pointed out that the October 7 attacks shattered commonly held assumptions, namely that parents can assure the safety of their children, that home is a safe space, and that if you are in trouble the army will come for you.  The breaking of these confidences has resulted in widespread anxiety and depression in both adults and children, and they have been able to put mental health providers into place wherever needed.  We left incredibly impressed with their work.

On the way to our next activity we stopped at Mount Scopus where there is a great view of the old city.  We took a group photograph there:

From left are Jane August, me, Daphne Futerman, Ira Jevotovsky, Suzanne Schnittman, Michael Schnittman, Fred Reich and Meredith Dragon.  Fred is the only one not from Rochester—he lives in New Jersey.

On our way to the new rehabilitation hospital at the Hadassah Medical Center, we visited a newly built 130 bed emergency hospital-in-waiting, created out of a garage after the October 7 attacks, with a heliport adjacent.  It was amazing to see; everything is in place, oxygen, suction, beds, monitors, everything.  In a garage!

Parking is very tight at Hadassah Hospital, where they have an elevator garage with a very small footprint.  Each column of cars has its own elevator and it works sort of like a vending machine:

The incredibly modern 140 bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital had been planned and was in the very earliest phase of building when October 7 occurred.  The construction was accelerated, and the first patients were admitted 2 days ago, to an unfinished building through a temporary entrance: 

It is enormous, and almost ready for full occupancy.  Here is one of two therapy pools:

The rooms are designed to allow patients as much independence as possible, with lifting tracks running down the center of the rooms and into the bathrooms and down the halls.  Patients who can get to the edge of the bed themselves can be semi-independent even if not ambulatory:

The rooms and the machinery for rehabilitation are incredible.  Here’s one of a couple of antigravity treadmills where the skirts lift the patient to as little as 20% weight on their legs:

Here’s a machine called a balance tutor:

And on and on.  We were led on the tour by the chief of occupational therapy, an Arab woman with a PhD.  As in all of Hadassah Hospital, even now, identities other than medical ones are left at the door.  We met with a young man and his sister who were both patients.  We heard their story about being at their kibbutz just outside of Gaza during the attacks, when a rocket fell immediately adjacent to them.  The 23-year-old man had a skull injury, shrapnel injuries and major trauma to a leg.  He is walking now with a crutch and getting rehabilitation here.  His older sister had shrapnel injuries and major trauma to a foot—she lost three toes on that foot.  She is also in rehab.  They told us how pleased they were that we came to visit; they seemed very sincere, and the staff also were effusive in their thanks.

We went to Ben Yehuda Street for a shawarma lunch, following which we went for our volunteer activity to an NGO called “Pantry Packers.”  This is an organization which feeds the poorest of the poor, providing meals on wheels, food deliveries and food banks for those in great need. 

Our job was to pack oats from huge bulk bins into plastic bags.  We had to label the bags with the name of the product and, on the back, a sticker with today’s date:

While some of us did that, others used one machine to put the oats in plastic bags and then through a machine which sealed the bags:

We worked there for a couple of hours, tedious but important.  Our final stop was at “Open Dor Media” where a group of media professionals make videos and monitor and react to misinformation and disinformation on social media.

We had a talk about the work they do trying to promote Israel and to create ways to help young people use social media in fact-based ways.  The work seems important, but for me I wondered about the impact they might be able to have as a small operation fighting an ocean of misinformation.  They are impressive people.

Up early tomorrow for a visit to the south, including to the Gaza envelope.  We are warned it will be the hardest day emotionally.  More when I can.