(posted on February 19th 2018, by Aboud Dandachi)

Ynet News had an article on the latest developments in Operation Good Neighbor, the IDF’s efforts to help Syrian victims of the conflict in that country.

Of particular interest was the following passage:

“…in recent months, Israel saw wounded and sick Syrians coming from as far as Damascus. There are no specialists on the other side, as most of them have fled….The wounded come in civilian clothes, and are no longer surprised to be allowed in.”

Remarkable. And this at a time when both Jordan and Lebanon have closed their borders to Syrians, whatever their situation or emergency.

Apparently in 2018, a Syrian sitting in the Syrian capital knows they can get medical treatment in the Golan, while being denied any sort of assistance from Syria’s Arab neighbors. There can hardly be a more illuminating demonstration of the differences between Israeli society and Arab ones. Over the past five years, more than one thousand Syrian children have been treated in Israeli hospitals.

The Ynet article also included information about the aid and assistance given to Syrian children with hearing issues. Costing around 5,000 NIS per hearing aid, the effort has been funded by Morris Kahn, a South-African born Israeli entrepreneur. It seems there has been no effort spared by Israeli and Jewish communities to help Syrians in need, while in contrast Syria’s other neighbors expend just as much effort in keeping Syrians away from their countries.

The full Ynet article can be read here.