Replies

Brigitte Gabriel
@ACTBrigitte

My mother was injured towards the end of the war in Lebanon, and we were left with no choice but to bring her to Israel to be treated for her injuries.

I remember my father handing me $60 from the mattress in our bomb shelter, the war had nearly bankrupted my family. We did not have much left and a trip across the border to Israel for medical treatment seemed out of reach.

I took my mother to the local “hospital” in town which was now bombed out and left with just 1 large room for treating basic injuries. The volunteer Israeli doctor and nurses were treating everyone who entered but had limited resources. My mother needed to visit a real hospital.

We put my mother in an Israeli donated ambulance and drove to the Israeli border, it was about a 10 minute drive to the border. Once we arrived at the border the Lebanese driver who knew my parents asked me, “Do you have any money for the ambulance ride to the border?” As an innocent child at the time with no experience around money, I pulled out all $60 and said, “This is all I have, how much do you need?” He took $30 and I thanked him for his kindness and service and proceeded to be with my mother as she was loaded into another ambulance to transport us to an Israeli hospital across the border, this time we were driven by an IDF reservist called up for the war.

The drive to the Israeli hospital was long and when we finally arrived, I knew the $30 left was not going to be enough money. If it had cost $30 for a 10 minute drive to the border, there is no way it could be enough for this long journey. As they were loading my mother off the ambulance and into the hospital, I pulled out the remaining money I had and offered it to the Israeli ambulance driver for the trip.

He looked down at my money and then back at me and said, “What is this for? We are offering this service to you and your mother for free. Keep the money for the rest of your trip and I wish your mother a speedy recovery.” He then went on his way to help others in need.

I felt so touched. I could not believe his kindness. I then became enraged as I realized the Lebanese driver who was friends with my parents took advantage of me and stole $30 from me for a free service.

It was that moment that I realized everything I was told about Israel from the Arabs in Lebanon was a lie.

It was that moment that I learned the difference between the Arab culture and the Israeli culture.

1:55 PM · Nov 1, 2023
·

https://twitter.com/ACTBrigitte/status/1719820523134145014

Wow, that is a very powerful anecdote.

I will add that that generous spirit is really the animating spirit of the West in general. Most Americans (or Europeans for that matter...but definitely Americans) would do the same as the Israeli ambulance driver. It would be as natural as breathing to help that kid and her mother out, because that’s the way our culture works. That’s why I think the civilized world needs to rally around the Israelis now — because they share our values. They’re an outpost of Western decency and civility in a very rough part of the world and they deserve our support.