Haunted by Inescapable Truths After the Recent Hostage Exchanges

As I continue to process President Trump’s startling pronouncement that the US should take over Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” I am simultaneously haunted by so many of the facts on the ground regarding the recently released gaunt, starved hostages and the meteoric rise in antisemitism here in the US.

The words of three heroic individuals involved in dealing with the aftermath of October 7 continue to swirl in my memory. I was honored to hear their stories at the recent Hadassah National Assembly meetings in Florida.

Dr. Shiri Ben-David, chief psychologist at the Hadassah Medical Organization, shared with us her experience as she watched the first hostages’ release from Hamas captivity. She cried two sets of tears, she told us. One set of tears represented her happiness that these traumatized hostages were finally coming home; the second set of tears were of sadness because she knew well what a long, hard road they had ahead of them to gain back a normal life.

I’ve heard several Israeli medical professionals say that the silver lining in the Oct 7 massacre and its aftermath is that Israelis, previously hesitant to seek psychological help, are now more willing to speak openly about their debilitating anxiety. One Israeli told me that they used to say a person who experienced a trauma was in denial if he seemingly went about his life as if nothing had happened. But, he said, “We’ve come to understand that it’s not denial. It’s a survival skill to put that stress aside for a while.”

His comment reminded me of a colleague of mine who I admire tremendously. She would always come to board meetings with a big smile on her face, no matter what was going on in her life. For example, when her brother was terminally ill, I knew she had come to our meeting directly from visiting him. Yet, she greeted me with her winning smile. I remember asking her, “How can you be smiling?” Didn’t you just come from visiting your brother?” With that smile still lighting up her face, though now combined with some pensiveness, she answered, “It’s called compartmentalizing. When I’m here, I’m no longer there. I am here.”

The second memory I have from those meetings is of the Israel Defense Forces commander who traveled to the US to tell us how his arm was shattered by sniper fire and how he regained use of it with the help of the specialists at the Hadassah Medical Organization’s Gandel Rehabilitation Center. He spoke with such courage, conviction and appreciation as he revealed to us that, even though he still has screws in his arm, in four days he was returning to Gaza to resume leadership of the 400 soldiers under his command.

While my heart breaks that this commander is still needed in Gaza, I am also filled with admiration for Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America and Hadassah International, which provided—and continue to provide– financial support enabling the Hadassah Medical Organization to open and continue to finish the new state-of-the-art comprehensive Gandel Rehabilitation Center at record speed. Gandel has already helped so many patients to heal from their wounds and I feel privileged to be a donor to Gandel. It feels so special to say, “Hineni (I am here) to meet this crucial need in our Jewish homeland.”

My third memory from the Hadassah meetings—poignant in its own way– is of the harsh truths regarding pervasive antisemitism in the US health care sector, conveyed by Michelle Stravitz, inaugural chief executive officer of the American Jewish Medical Association (AJMA). Founded the week of October 7, 2023, the AJMA is comprised of not only physicians but also medical students, nurses and other health professionals. Its mission is “to be a safe, enriching community with a unified voice for all Jewish healthcare workers.” As per the AJMA’s website, “We advocate to address contemporary issues affecting our members and society, including recently rising incidents of antisemitism and anti-Zionism that impact the workplace and patient care. We leverage our unified voice to stand strongly with Israel, to promote Jewish values and ethics in medicine and to combat antisemitism within the medical community.”

The AJMA’s advocacy is sorely needed. According to a survey by the University of Illinois Chicago, 88 percent of the respondents– physicians, nurses, clinical psychologists and students in medical or related fields– said they had experienced at least one incident of antisemitism after Oct. 7, 2023, compared with 40 percent who said they had experienced antisemitism before that date. (Fortunately, other Jewish voices are also combating this shocking rise of antisemitism in health care as well.)

Bringing a more tangible understanding to the frightening statistics, AJMA CEO Stravitz noted that at every level of relationship within health care, antisemitism has reared its head. What reality is that conveying? It means, she explained, that some physicians have stopped referring patients to their colleagues because they have stood up for Israel; that patients have stopped going to doctors they trusted because they heard they were Zionists. There are blacklists of therapists because they are Israel advocates. Medical Grand Rounds have morphed into spaces where health professionals feel entitled to air their distorted views about Israel committing “genocide” in Gaza.

My heart freezes every time I remember Stravitz’s words.

Just as my heart skips several beats as I remember, too, the words of my Israeli cousin who told me not too long ago, “First, we have to get all our hostages home. Then we have to start preparing for the next war.  That is our life!”

Though, of course, I understand well why he says that, I have to keep believing that it will not be the case; that, someday, the people of Israel will be able to stop bracing for war and concentrate fully on what they do so well: innovating and reaching out to help make our world a better place.

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Lonye is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place. It’s a place to celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and to share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts.  Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 500 columns in The Times of Israel Blogs and other Jewish media outlets. Interested? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org.