Trigger warning: The interviews in this article are with physicians serving in Israel. Their first-hand descriptions of the terrorist attacks by Hamas are graphic in nature.
Dr Zev Neuwirth is no stranger to war conflicts. Here’s his background: After losing his wife to a brain tumor, he decided to dedicate his life to healing. He went to medical school at the age of 41. He was commissioned as a naval officer with the U.S. army and is now an internal medicine physician in Florida.
When he heard the news about the war in Israel, he drove to the airport and got on a plane to Israel. He traveled to the border near Gaza where was infiltration from Hamas during the terror attack on October 7th, 2023.
I spoke to Dr Neuwirth via phone. He has been operating on the frontlines alongside the Israel Defense Forces, providing medical support for injured and sick military and civilians. He is a volunteer with United Hatzala of Israel.
He shared the following with me: “I’ve been to other warzones, including Ukraine. What I’ve witnessed here is the horrific, barbaric, brutality and cruelty of sadistic hell. No words can describe this. Absolute innocent people including civilians, mothers, children, and babies were murdered in a horrific hell on October 7th, 2023. What keeps me going is the hope and the solace that I can ease the suffering in any small way, whether medical or emotional support.”
Dr. Yaakov Seligman was born and raised in Florida. He moved to Israel after completing high school and is now a plastic surgeon at Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical centre in Israel. As a 37-year-old father of six children, he is exempt from the army reserves. Instead of staying home with his wife and kids, he signed the waiver acknowledging that he wants to serve even though he is exempt from duty.
Maj. (Res.) Seligman is now serving in the special forces on the front lines of the Israel-Hamas war.
Dr Seligman shared with me via phone, “The terrible atrocities I’ve witnessed that Hamas committed are unparalleled in human history outside of the Holocaust. Children were raped in view of their parents, parents raped in view of their children. Jews burned alive, their bodies mutilated by Hamas terrorists to the point of being unrecognizable and being unable to use dental records to verify their identities. I’ve seen babies be-headed, dead Jews with their fingers or hands chopped off, women scalped with a rusty rake, and many more terrible atrocities. These atrocities were pre-planned. Hamas left the murdered Jews bodies rigged with explosives, so that recovery and burial would be dangerous for us. Hamas is holding scores of hostages and G-d only knows what they are doing to them. Hamas terrorists aren’t satisfied with murder, they used their victims’ phones to livestream their brutality.”
Thousands of physicians from all over the world have signed up to volunteer in Israel. Volunteers are also sending medical supplies from the U.S. as well.
Dr Shuli Kulak is a pediatrician by training and has been working as a biotech executive for many years. Dr. Kulak moved to Israel four years ago and continues to work for a U.S.-based biotech company. As soon as the war broke out, Dr. Kulak and her professional network in Israel sprung into action to create 8400 The Health Network with aMoon venture fund and Brothers in Arms to create MedMatch – a medical equipment task force.
Dr. Kulak says “Everyone here in Israel is using their unique set of skills to help the country. Fighters are fighting, cooks are cooking. What I can do is leverage my medical knowledge and large network in the US and Israel. What we are doing in our MedMatch task force is consolidating and prioritizing medical equipment needs across strategic hospitals in Israel and matching those needs with US hospitals, large pharmaceutical & med device companies and other donors who are able to provide or fund desperately needed equipment. We’ve had some great success thus far bringing excess stock from the US to hospitals hard hit in the south.”
While Israelis and Jews all over the world mourn the terrorist attack and loss of innocent lives, it’s heartwarming to see the tremendous volunteerism and philanthropy coming together to support Israel.
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