A group of Israelis was attacked in some remote location in a foreign country. We have recently experienced more and more such cases, unfortunately and horrifically. Imagine that medical assistance was delayed for hours by the local authorities. We would raise a great outcry against the injustice and inhumanity of the act.

When Muhand, Mubarak, and Leila were attacked in their tent in the middle of the night by masked Jewish terrorists armed with clubs, handcuffed, and beaten and sprayed with pepper spray, it took four hours before the first ambulance arrived to evacuate them. The Palestinian ambulance that was en route to provide urgent help to the victims was detained at a checkpoint by Israeli soldiers, even though the police and the IDF had already arrived at the scene of the pogrom. The names used here are fictitious, but the story is true and happened two months ago in the occupied territories. Furthermore, it is not an isolated incident, We,  the activists of the protective presence in the occupied territories, often encounter stories of ambulances that are delayed, sometimes arriving too late.

When little Mahmoud from the Jordan Valley, who suffers from severe epilepsy, received permission to be treated at a hospital in East Jerusalem, his dear mother Aya was not allowed to accompany him. Neither was his father. He was forced to go to a foreign hospital with an Israeli Jewish volunteer and without his parents. Like him, many Palestinian patients arrive every day for treatment in Israel with the help of volunteers, because of the difficulties of transit and movement in Israel.

The Commandment Is “Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue”

When hundreds of thousands of Israelis chanted “The people want social justice” during the social protest of 2011, it can be assumed that they were demanding a fair and just distribution of resources, a decent and equal existence, and the guarantee of basic rights, such as access to health care.

Indeed, the term "social justice" as a modern term describes justice that concerns the distribution of resources, the government's obligations to its citizens, human dignity, and concern for the weak. Although the term is new, the ideas that underlie it are ancient and to a large extent based on Jewish morality. The commandment "Justice, justice shall you pursue" is stated in the Book of Deuteronomy (16:20). It both conveys the need to actively pursue justice and repeats the word justice, which can be understood as indicating the mutual dependency between legal justice and social justice. Repeated references to love for foreigners, such as “and you shall not oppress a foreigner, nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 22:2), leave no doubt as to the moral intention of applying justice also to those who are not part of Jewish society.

The prophets of Israel, many of whom lived in a Jewish kingdom and confronted Jewish rule, repeatedly emphasized the importance of doing justice and judgment. The work of God is tested in relation to the weak in society (the foreigner, the orphan, the widow, etc.) and is not just voluntary kindness to others but a correction of the social order. 

The important moral rule established by Hillel the Elder, who said “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor” (Tractate Shabbat, page 31), sets an important compass that underlies the concept of justice. Delaying medical assistance to a remote shepherd community or preventing family members from accompanying the ill does not comply with Hillel the Elder's rule.

Zionism, Then and Now

The founders of modern Zionism and its ideologues, from A.D.Gordon to Jabotinsky, wished for a model society, founded on concepts of social justice and human rights. For example, Berl Katznelson wrote: "The redemption of the people and the redemption of the individual are intertwined."

In our words here, we will point out the glaring and shocking injustice related to the lack of access to medical care and social services in general for the Palestinian residents of Area C.  We will then leave it to each reader to consider whether the State of Israel is indeed a model society founded on concepts of social justice.

Approximately 300,000 Palestinians live in Area C in the West Bank without civil status. The civil and security responsibility for them lies with Israel. The State of Israel is sovereign in the area, and therefore is responsible for their access to health care. When a sick or injured Palestinian needs to receive medical care in Area A, in East Jerusalem, or even in an Israeli hospital, (with the approval and payment of the Palestinian Authority), he can expect to be stopped at checkpoints, delayed for a long time, and subjected to harassment.

The Situation Worsened After October 7

None of this is new, of course. Since October 7, however, the situation has worsened greatly. Many checkpoints that were totally open have become operational again, and crossing from Area C to other areas under Palestinian control in the West Bank and, of course, to Israel have become very. Alongside the checkpoints and the accessibility problem, the health situation has worsened greatly, partly as a result of poverty and violence.

The almost complete cessation of issuing permits for Palestinians to work in Israel has led to increasing poverty and difficulty paying for health insurance. For this reason, vulnerable populations, especially women and children, are not able to access essential treatment.

In addition,  the proliferation of settler farms that are closing in on every Palestinian encampment and the violent attacks by Jewish terrorists throughout Area C cause stress, anxiety, and even trauma, as well as many injuries and hospitalizations.

The combination of violent attacks alongside growing poverty and checkpoints that prevent access to medical care is making life for Palestinians in Area C impossible.

The Jewish Voice That Demands the Pursuit of Justice

In the name of the Jewish voice that demands that we pursue justice, in the name of the Zionist vision of creating a model society, and in the name of international law that requires the sovereign in the territory to ensure full human rights for the people living under its control, we call on the IDF  to ensure the rapid and efficient passage of all patients and their companions, including of course those being transported in ambulances, and to protect all Palestinian residents of Area C from settler violence. This protection should be based on the understanding that Palestinians are people who are entitled to the right to life and dignity, just as we demand for the citizens of Israel.

Thousands of Israelis participate in the protective presence project that aims to protect Palestinians in Area C from Jewish terrorist attacks, and they accompany the threatened communities day and night. This presence opens our eyes to injustices and in its name we write these words. Any reader who wants to join can find information about the various organizations at https://protectivepresence.org.il/?lang=en