A Tenacious Magen David Adom vs. the ICRC ‘Goliath’

Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, there have been long-running tensions between Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). They roil on and on in the current Gaza war on Hamas. What are those deep (and toxic) roots of the ICRC’s continual, chiding and contentious exchanges?
Though the MDA met all the criteria and conditions prior to eventual full membership of the ICRC they were denied that status and privilege due to political, cultural and religious prejudice. The ICRC seem to need constant reminding of its founding principles of their charter of universality, morality and civility.
Muslim countries’ Red Cresent has had no such strife with the ICRC. Their affiliation to the ICRC came as early as 1912. The only country that early-approved the MDA’s quest was the American Red Cross. The decision to admit Israel together with the Palestinian Red Crescent was finally announced in 2006, at the 29th International Conference of the Red Cross & Red Crescent, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Why did decades of such unjustifiable, official foot dragging occur? It took a brave and patient Muslim Arab, Dr Mohammed al-Hadid, of the Jordanian National Red Crescent Society – to bring about the ICRC’s long-overdue change of heart towards the MDA.* History has not been kind-minded to the Jewish people. It’s very hard for the hostage relatives, Israeli citizens and the Israeli government to trust officials in the ICRC.
In ‘Humanitarians at War: The Red Cross in the Shadow of the Holocaust’, academic historian, Steinacher, makes an eviscerating examination of the ICRC’s irredeemable failure in protecting and aiding the Jews in Auschwitz and other death camps during WW2. The author reminds us that the ICRC deferred to the “deeply Nazified” German Red Cross throughout the 1930s. **
Has that horrendous, inhumane history repeated itself in the current day hostage crisis in Gaza? Has there been a “Hamasification” of the ICRC and the Palestinian Red Cresent? It seems like that. Abject policy failures have been allowed to occur. Moral leadership is nowhere to be seen. We know that the ICRC has done little-to-nothing for the long-held hostages, denying their humanitarian mandate.
The ICRC claim that their hands are tied by Hamas’ pre-release publicity stunts. There were chaotic crowds at the hostage handing-over process. To say nothing of the forced waves and smiles on stage for video, the sham “certificate” signing and merch mockery of “Gaza goodie bags“. All that triumphalist, sectarian script is exclusive Palestinian agitprop made for TikTok livestream.
When Israel released many Palestinian prisoners, in a related exchange, confrontations developed between the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the Red Cross. According to Kan 11, an Israeli TV station, the Red Cross attempted to prevent the IPS from photographing the prisoners as they were transferred to buses in handcuffs, hands above their heads, with modest bracelets printed with the reminder statement: “The people of eternity do not forget.
The IPS stated that it was an operational photo shoot, aimed at preventing claims from the released security prisoners, or from other parties regarding their condition or the manner of their release. Eventually ICRC operatives backed down when Israel pointed out the hypocrisy of permitting Hamas’ humiliation and hounding of hostages while forbidding Israel to merely shoot official verification photos.
Also, in a side note, there were no huge anti-Hamas posters backdropping the release points of freed Palestinian prisoners, no dictated forced smiles and waves for an online audience, and finally no sham “release certificate” signings.
The world is asking too much from Israel. Liberal Western sermonising and furiously fundamentalist Arab attitudes are inflaming and upholding a pugnacious and pungent anti-semitism. Biblical minded Christians need to remember the miraculous metaphor of old and help hold up any modern Moses’ hands.
“…whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning. But Moses’ hands got tired. So they got a stone and set it under him. He sat on it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down. Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle.” – Exodus 17:11-13
Finally, a saying that most Israelis will appreciate from an ancient Alexandrian apostle (the “contra mundum” Coptic pope) Athanasius. He defiantly declared in one of his many battles for hearts, minds and souls:
“If the world is against the truth, then I am against the world.”
– Athanasius (A.D. 328 – 373)
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*MDA UK welcomes H.E. Dr Mohammed Al-Hadid
https://mdauk.org/mda-uk-welcomes-h-e-dr-mohammed-al-hadid/
** “Humanitarians at War: The Red Cross in the Shadow of the Holocaust” by Gerald Steinacher https://www.amazon.com/Humanitarians-War-Cross-Shadow-Holocaust/dp/0198704933
How Did Nazis Escape After the War? | Gerald Steinacher
(2.40 minutes in for ICRC references)