Vol. LXXXn
No. 16
Omaha, NE
15 Tevet, 5763
December 20,2002
CELEBRATING 82 YEARS OF SERVICE TO NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA
Thinking the Unthinkable: P2K Doctors Help Western Galilee Prepare by CAROL KATZMAN, Editor
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What happens to the Israeli medical system when current staff is called up for reserve duty? Who will care for patients in hospitals if Iraq attacks Israel? These are not questions the Israeli medical professional has taken lightly in the Western Galilee, an area bordered by Lebanon on the north, the Mediterranean on the east and only eight miles at its narrowest point from the West Bank. One doctor in Omaha, Dr. Wayne Lainof, has thought a great deal about this potential dilemma. So when doctors in Dallas, TX, and Dayton, OH, two of the 13 Central Region Partnership 2000 citiesincluding Omaha, decided to put together a five-day medical mission to the Western Galilee, Lainof jumped at the chance. "I'm really in a perfect position at this time in my life to help," Lainof explained in a recent interview. A retired Air Force colonel, who specialized in pediatrics, Dr. Lainof currently works at an urgent care center in the Bellevue area, near Offutt Air Force Base. "Since I only work part-time now, I can clear my calendar quickly if my colleagues at the Western Galilee Hospital are called up for reserve duty." In mid-October, Lainof travelled to the hospital, located near the seaside town of Nahariya, with 14 other healthcare professionals, to become familiar with the hospital procedures, meet the staff and tour the current institution as well as visit the new addition. These 14, ranging in age from mid-40s to mid-60s, have made a Commitment to literally "drop everything and fly to Israel within 10 days of being alerted," Lainof added. "God forbid that this should happen," he continued, "but we all listen to the news and are aware of
the growing threat from Iraq. The medical professionals in Israel are making the right decision to prepare for this." While Lainof and his™ fellow doctors would not be used in a military situation, they would be able to step in to provide ongoing care to patients at the Western Galilee Hospital. Lainof, in fact, not only toured the pediatric unit there, but went on grand rounds and inet several patients and their families, home hospitality was offered to him by Dr. Alon Yulevitch, a pediatric surgeon who immigrated more than a decade ago from Ukraine. This "Dry Run exercise" Dr. D a n n y Leor, center, describes one of eight new underground blastas it was called, also gave proof surgical suites in t h e Western Galilee hospital to a group of 15 the group an opportunity medial professionals, among them, Omahan Dr. Wayne Lainof. to meet with medical units of the Northern name familiar to many Omahans, now houses eight Command, stationed near Tsfat, and tour the hospi- "space age"surgical units and wards in reinforced tal's multi-million dollar underground facility which rooms, behind blast-proof doors in a "clean" enviwould be used in time of a widescale disaster. And ronment. "It really looks like something out of Star they learned how the hospital would operate if faced Trek" Lainof said with a smile."This is something with attacks from biological and/or chemical Israel has prepared for during the last 50 years," weapons these in the West suspect Iraq already has. Lainof remarked, "something the United States is The hospital, led by Dr. Danny Leor, the medical just beginning to understand since Sept. 11." (Continued on page 11) representative to P2K in the Western Galilee and a
With Leaders Focused on Security, More Israelis Slip Below Poverty Line by JESSICA STEINBERG
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JERUSALEM (JTA)-On rainy winter days, Katya sits with her bulging shopping cart at a bus stop in Rechavia, one of Jerusalem's older, more genteel neighborhoods. The 54-year-old was once a music teacher, but a prolonged divorce and depression cost Katya her job, and now she is homeless on the streets of Jerusalem. "I don't mind it," she said, bundled up in several sweaters and coats. "No one bothers me, and people usually give me any leftover food they have in their bag." It's still unusual to see a homeless person sitting at a Jerusalem bus stop, but it may not be unusual for long. According to recently released statistics on poverty, Katya is one of 1.2 million Israelis, or nearly 20 percent of the population, living below the poverty line. The figure has increased by almost one percent from the previous year. The poverty level for an Israeli family of four is $934. The release of the poverty statistics coincided with the start of Israel's election campaign, and some parties are making demands for greater social equality a prominent issue in their platforms. On the left, new Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna, for example, says Israel must disengage from the Palestinians-withdrawing unilaterally from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, if need be~in order to concentrate on socioeconomic and other domestic issues. On the 1'ight, when Benjamin Netanyahu mounted his recent challenge to unseat Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as head of the Likud Party, he began by trumpeting his ability to resuscitate Israel's economy.
Aniram Mitzna is the newly elected head of Israel's Labor Party. Photo by Edgar Asher IISRANET The platform of Yisrael Acheret, or A Different Israel-which is fighting a legal battle to register as a now party-ignores ideological disputes over policy toward the Palestinians to focus exclusively on Israel's internal needs. And on Monday, another new party—the Protest Movement, which hopes to unite all social protest groups-announced its formation, under the slogan "Israel wants equality of chances." Yet while politicians cite the figures and results of
the recent poverty report, few seem to have any concrete suggestions or solutions to address Israel's growing socioeconomic gap, beyond general statements that Israel should spend less on settlements or yeshivas and more on development towns. At a recent press conference, Mitzna spoke about the link between the current economic recession and Israel's social problems. "We have to deal with domestic issues and divert all our resources into domestic problems," he said. The left-wing Meretz Party also is focusing on what Meretz legislator Ran Cohen calls a "socioeconomic disaster that has reached monstrous proportions." When 58 percent of Israeli citizens, including the middle class and business people, have been harmed by the current recession, it creates an awareness that change is necessary, Cohen added. Yet more often than not, Israel's growing income gap and widening circle of poverty remain an issue for the op-ed columns, low on the government's todo list when Palestinian terror attacks are continuing. Reacting to the recent statistics, the New Israel Fund called for a focus on economic equality in the cuEjtent election campaign, and for immediate government action. (Continued on page 7)
INSIDE; Temple Pilots New Siddur...
page 8
P2K Visitors Envision Future
page 10
Bible Quiz winners
.....page 12