For the past few months, the sound of explosions echoing from across the Syrian border had become an integral part of the lives of Israelis living in the north. Yet, the battles waged by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his army against the rebels were no more than a distant rumor — until last Saturday that is, when they took on a human face.
On that Saturday, February 16, seven wounded Syrians mustered their last bit of strength and made it to that border. They were apparently rebels, taking part in the fight against Assad’s army. One of them was in critical condition; the rest were moderately wounded. They had been injured by bullets and shrapnel, and nothing seemed to stop their bleeding. It was a question of life and death, so the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the area decided to give them on-the-spot medical care. The wounded rebels were then evacuated to Ziv Hospital in Safed for further treatment.
Suddenly the war and rumors of war had become something very real and very close. In fact, it was happening right along the border. It was no longer some act of insanity taking place far beyond the Mountains of Darkness. It was right next door! That meant that Israel could no longer just watch from the sidelines at what was happening in Syria, no matter how disconcerting it was. It had, and has, a responsibility to get involved.
No, I don’t mean military intervention. I mean basic humanitarian aid to save the lives of anyone who reaches our borders asking for help, just like the IDF did on Saturday. Nor should it even make a difference if the wounded victim of the fighting is a member of Assad’s army or if he is rebelling against it. Wounded is wounded. The very people who thought of Israel as a country full of people with horns — which is actually how Israeli Jews are depicted in the Syrian media — or of people walking about with their rifles cocked and their fingers on the trigger, will see another face of the enemy that they were taught to hate. It’s just too bad that so much blood had to flow down the Hasbani River before this could happen.
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