The Washington Post shined a spotlight on interfaith cooperation in Israel in a front-page story focused on Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem: “An Arab doctor and an ultra-Orthodox Jew find common ground in a covid ward.”

Since long before the emergence of COVID-19, Hadassah has been known for building bridges to peace, and we’re proud to have our efforts recognized in this article by The Washigton Post’s Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Steve Hendrix. But the urgency right now has brought more attention to these efforts.

“For many health-care workers exhausting themselves shift after shift, this shared fight against a common enemy has provided a boost of mutual esteem amid the dark days of crisis,” it says.

Jerusalem’s most insular and religious enclaves have been particularly hardhit by the pandemic. "The pandemic has created a bridge between their worlds. Hundreds of Jewish COVID-19 patients are being treated by Arab practitioners they might never meet outside the hospital. Sick Palestinians are getting care from Jewish medical staff.”

One Muslim doctor tells The Washington Post about the “Haredi patients who call his cellphone to ask questions and check on his well-being.” He was “one of the Arabs who covered for the Jewish staff during Passover, just as Jews now cover the wards each evening during Ramadan while Arabs end their fast around the breakroom table.”

At Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, says one doctor, “we are all just humans.”

Read the full article in The Washington Post.

Listen to this podcast episode of Hadassah On Call: "Where Are We Now? COVID-19 Update with Hadassah's Dr. Ran Nir-Paz."
Read updates about Hadassah’s COVID-19 response efforts.
Listen to this Branch podcast episode about two doctors at Hadassah Hospital.