opinions & letters
Assad Hates Israel More Than
He Loves His People
Mitchell Bard
W ho sent the most volunteers and were
among the fi rst on the scene to assist
in the rescue of the victims of the earth-
quake in Turkey?
Israel, of course.

Yifat Erlich reported in Israel Hayom that an Israel
Defense Forces rescue team and hundreds of volun-
teers from other organizations were working fever-
ishly to fi nd survivors amidst the rubble.

“The conditions in their make-shift camps are not
easy, and rescuers have no access to running water
or electricity, and sleeping on the fl oor in the bitter
cold,” Ehrlich related. “The team — consisting of 500
people — has been working non-stop since Tuesday,
racing against time and in the conditions of the winter
cold. No one stopped to eat or sleep, despite the fact
that they had been at it for over 48 hours. By early
Wednesday morning, they had already managed to
rescue several people, including a 2-year-old child
and a 23-year-old woman.”
At least 19 people have been rescued by Israelis
in what the IDF is calling Operation Olive Branches.

Israel is doing this in a country that only recently
restored diplomatic relations. President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan has spent the last several years
attacking Israel and, even today, after reconciling
with Jerusalem, allows Hamas offi cials in Istanbul to
plan operations. Rejecting Israel’s request that they
be expelled, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said
in October, “We didn’t satisfy any request on Hamas,
because we don’t perceive Hamas as a terror group.”
Still, Israel sent rescuers.

Meanwhile, across the border in Syria, thousands
of victims of the quake were dying due to a lack of
assistance. Israel off ered to send its fi nest to help
there too but President Bashar Assad would rather
see his people die than accept help from Israel.

The situation is not funny but nevertheless reminds
me of an apropos joke:
The captain of a Syrian airliner sends out a distress
message: “Mayday, mayday, mayday, Syrian 174,
fl ame out engine one, we want to land at any airport
in the Mid-East that’s not in Israel.”
No answer.

A short while later he announces, “Mayday, Syrian
174, fl ame out engines one and two, requesting
permission to land at any airport in the Mid-East
OTHER than in Israel.”
Silence. A while later the captain announces, “Mayday,
Syrian 174, we are desperate. We have lost two
engines and are losing the third. We need to land
at any airport in the Mid-East OTHER than in Israel.”
Still no answer.

Finally, the captain calls, “Help! This is Syrian
Airlines 174, we have only one engine left and it is
rapidly failing. Unless we can land, we are going to
crash. We need permission to land at ANY airport,
INCLUDING in Israel.”
A voice is heard in the Syrian airline cockpit:
“Shalom Syrian 174, Tel Aviv Approach. Radar
contact over the Mediterranean, eight-fi ve west of
Tel Aviv. We stand ready to assist.”
“God bless you,” says the Syrian pilot. “What
should we do?”
“Repeat after me: Yitgadal, v’yitkadash …”
Not even a devastating earthquake was enough
for Assad to accept help from Israel.

Still, Israel does what it can. Back in 2016, the IDF
Northern Command established the headquarters
of Operation Good Neighbor near the border with
Israel. A fi eld hospital was set up to provide human-
itarian assistance and medical aid to victims of the
civil war. More than 10,000 Syrian civilians were
treated, and fuel, food and clothing were provided to
Israel’s “enemies.”
Similarly, the IDF set up a fi eld hospital in Turkey to
treat earthquake victims, including Syrian refugees.

The Times of Israel reported that a 4-year-old Syrian
refugee whose parents were killed in the quake was
among those treated at the makeshift hospital.

“I found myself taking out halva from our combat
rations and giving it to him, and he loved it,” said
Lt. Col. Aziz Ibrahim, a nurse and a commander in
the IDF Medical Corps. Ibrahim told the paper the
boy’s uncle said, “You Israelis treat us better than
our people.”
Meanwhile, have you heard from supporters of the
Palestinians expressing any concern for Palestinians
who might have been injured in the quake? They’re
too busy demonizing Israel to organize help for the
people they care oh so much about only if Israel can
be blamed for their plight. They undoubtedly see
Israel’s relief activities as “rescue washing;” that is,
just another cynical eff ort to distract attention from
the persecution of Palestinians.

At a time when Israel is being assailed on multiple
fronts for its politics, it is worth reminding the world
that it is a country that values life above all else
and is prepared to help even its most entrenched
enemies, in the tradition of the Talmudic teaching
that whoever saves a single life is considered to have
saved the whole world. ■
Mitchell Bard is a foreign policy analyst and an
authority on U.S.-Israel relations.

letters Elie Wiesel Censorship Op-Ed Lacked
Context Though I agree we need to talk about all forms
of discrimination, the specifi c event Lindsay Karp
chose — a Central Bucks School District temporarily
removing a poster with an Elie Wiesel quote — was
not fully described (”The Quiet, Potentially Deadly
Discrimination We Need to Talk About,” Feb. 9).

The actual events were that the principal ordered
the Wiesel quotation removed. The librarian removed
it. Parents protested. The school board heard the
protests and ordered the quotation to be reinstalled.

That was done the following day. The op-ed leaves
the impression that the quote is no longer in the
library. The Central Bucks School Board is very worrisome
in that they wish to control what may or may not be
taught in class and also what literature is available in
the school libraries. ■
Gerald Gilbert
Washington Crossing
Correction In the Feb. 9 article “You Should Know Gevura Davis,” Aish Chaim was incorrectly identifi ed as a
Modern Orthodox congregation. Aish Chaim describes itself as an unaffi liated independent outreach
community. SEND US LETTERS
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