Many of us are aware of the amazing chesed that has taken place in Israel since October 7. Jews from all over the world have engaged in every way possible in much to ease the horrors of the current war. Two former Teaneckers, Eliana Aaron and her brother Yigal Marcus, realized that Israeli hospitals were in dire need of replacing doctors who were being called into their miluim service at a moment’s notice, leaving the hospitals terribly understaffed. Scores of victims with horrible injuries were being rushed to the hospitals, some in critical condition transported by helicopters, under emergency conditions. These hospitals were in desperate need of additional physicians.
Aaron and Marcus jumped into action, with the idea of recruiting as many doctors as possible from around the world to fill all of the vacancies. However, one cannot just show up in a hospital and say, “I’m here, what can I do”? The pair started Hinenu, an organization to help bring these medical professionals to Israel. They created a “situation room” to make it as easy as possible to organize and pre-vet the doctors who registered to volunteer at the Israeli hospitals. They also created a way to connect these doctors with medical centers throughout the country and help assess each facility’s specific needs.
Doctors who expressed interest in coming were oriented regarding the particular hospital to which they would be going. Hinenu reviews the qualifications and specialties of the physicians enrolled in the program and once they are approved by the hospital, an official request for temporary licensure is processed through the Ministry of Health. Once approved by the Ministry, the actual logistics begin.
The airfare for the participants is usually paid for by the volunteers, although in some cases the Jewish Agency funds the flights. Hinenu has appealed to the Jewish Agency and Jewish Federation of North America to assist with funding for the volunteers’ flights. Other arrangements, such as housing, are the responsibility of each doctor.
This program is special in that it forges new paths of communication and camaraderie between foreign doctors and their Israeli counterparts. Friendships are established and learning moments are shared. These lines of communication leave room in the future for Israeli physicians who may wish to come to the States for a learning or teaching experience to happen more easily.
The long term goal is for foreign physicians to continue volunteering periodically, one to two times a year in peacetime, to encourage collaboration, cross-training, and enhancing skills with colleagues. During times of war and war-preparedness, volunteers who have been oriented at a hospital can return to assist during a crisis.
Hinenu volunteers come to Israel initially for two weeks, but returns for volunteer stints can be shorter, as they are already fully oriented to the hospital departments.
Most of us are aware of the major hospitals in Israel, such as Shaare Zedek, Hadassah, Sheba and Soroka, but there are so many other hospitals located closer to border communities that are feeling the pinch greatly and are at imminent risk of direct impact from missiles.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Mark Kissin, who is a vascular surgeon at Long Island Jewish Hospital (LIJ). Dr. Kissin was born in Israel and he told me that the minute that the October 7 massacre occurred he felt the need to get up and go. He said he was “ready to go with packed bags.” He himself made many calls to hospitals to see where he was needed and then connected with the Ministry of Health together with Nefesh B’Nefesh. He literally called every day. After several attempts he was able to connect with a doctor in Nahariya who is affiliated with the Galilee Medical Center. Nahariya is up North on the border of Lebanon and is threatened by major attacks at any time. As a result of his connection, the hospital was able to take care of all of the bureaucracy in an expedited amount of time, and Dr. Kissin was off.
He had little idea of what to expect and is grateful to his colleagues at LIJ for encouraging him to go and the concern which they exhibited towards him. At the same time his daughter was in Israel as a participant in the Taglit program and decided to cancel her return and join him in Nahariya, where she quickly became a part of the vascular team doing whatever she could to help as a layperson. She is, in fact, studying to become a veterinarian, but this experience might be changing her mind in that she may go from curing animals to curing humans! She attends UC Davis and frequently experienced professors who would cancel lectures in order to attend pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Dr. Kissin has twice volunteered at the same hospital. The second time he established such a warm relationship with another confrere at the hospital that he was invited to stay with him and his family at his Moshav. The same doctor then insisted that Dr. Kissin’s daughter, who had chosen to stay in Israel and volunteer for as long as she could, should live with his family as well together with his wife and five daughters.
Mission accomplished—Dr. Kissin is helping Israel and deep bonds and friendships are being established in the medical community!
I was also fortunate enough to chat with another doctor who signed up to work at the same hospital in Nahariya. Believe it or not, her roots are right here in Teaneck where her parents still reside. Now living in Phoenix, Arizona and employed as a vascular surgeon, Dr Avigayil Ribner begins her stint on Sept 14 for two weeks. She also noticed an email that was sent by the Ministry of Health in Israel requesting that doctors come as quickly as possible in order to ease the burden of their hospitals. I commented on how brave she is to do this and she admitted to being “slightly” nervous but nevertheless feels the great need to contribute. I am sure that her family is exceedingly proud of her. Again, she is responsible for her own arrangements once she arrives in Israel. I cannot wait to speak with her after she completes her time there. Maybe she will decide to stay?
Now that Hinenu is well established, many of the steps that the above physicians went through are much less complex and far easier to manage.
It should be known that doctors who are volunteering through Hinenu are not only coming from the United States. Hinenu has a registry of more than 3,100 physician volunteers from 49 countries, and another 9,000 non-physician volunteers. Hinenu states that it is building a “medical army for Israel” to help with preparing for a potential escalation of the war in the North. The Hinenu slogan is “Medical Heroes for Israel,” which is what these physicians really are. Hinenu is currently having an emergency fundraising campaign, the goal of which is to expand operations to other hospitals directly affected by the current crisis. They are assisting with placements in over 20 departments in seven hospitals, but more requests keep coming in. Their goal is to reach $100,000, of which they have already raised $31,000. Fundraising and program expansion needs to proceed quickly to meet all of its needs.
To inquire, donate and/or to register as a volunteer, please go to www.hinenu.org. Hinenu is a 501 (c)(3) tax deductible charity.
