Israel Police started evacuating the unrecognized Bedouin village Umm al-Hiran on the night of Jan. 18, 2017. The villagers protested against the pending demolitions of their homes. During the evacuation, police officer Erez Levy was killed when Yacoub Abu al-Qiyan hit him with his car. Another police officer shot at the car and injured Abu al-Qiyan. While police were quick to label Abu al-Qiyan as a terrorist and supporter of the Islamic State (IS), his family denied these allegations.

In a law-abiding country, the people who were ultimately responsible for the shooting and killing of Bedouin educator Abu al-Qiyan and who then depicted him as a terrorist would at least face disciplinary action and even criminal charges. The minister of internal security and the superintendent of police would then resign from their positions, effective immediately.

An autopsy of Abu al-Qiyan found that he was shot in his right knee and died of his injuries about half an hour later, without having received any medical attention. Haaretz revealed June 11 that a police doctor who was present at the incident did not provide him with any medical treatment in order to save his life, even though she knew that Abu al-Qiyan was dying. In a state subject to the rule of law, she would have her license to practice medicine revoked for such a flagrant violation of her medical oath.

The Oath of the Hebrew Physician, formulated by professor Lipman Halpern in 1952 and based on the Hippocratic Oath, was adopted by the Israeli Medical Association. It states unequivocally: “You will aid the sick irrespective of whether they are converts or gentiles or citizens, whether they are ignominious or respected.” Abu al-Qiyan was an Israeli citizen — and a respected one at that. He was a teacher who was much admired by his students. As it turns out, the rules of behavior, morality and ethics are different when the patient isn’t Jewish, even if he is a citizen of Israel. The law is not the same for everyone.