“Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.” (Psalm 112:4)
Dr. Ali Abu Sherech, from the town of Dahariya in Samaria (northern “West Bank”), was rewarded for providing emergency care to the family of Israeli Rabbi Michael “Miki” Mark, who was killed after a Palestinian terrorist shot at their car, causing it to overturn.
On July 1, the 48-year-old Mark, his wife Have and two of his teenage children were driving in the South Hebron Hills 15 kilometers from where 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel was murdered by a Palestinian the day before.
As the Mark family drove, a Palestinian gunman shot multiple times at the car, identifiable by its Israeli plates. After the gunfire caused the car to flip over, Mark was trapped inside, shot, and not breathing.
Rabbi Michael “Miki” Mark’s overturned vehicle (IDFblog photo)
Mark’s wife and 14-year-old daughter, Tehila, were also shot in the attack, the latter in the stomach. Both were wounded seriously and taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem. Mark’s 15-year-old son was also lightly wounded. (JPost)
Sherech was first on the scene. He told Israel HaYom that he was driving with his brother and wife to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount and saw what he thought was a car accident, not a terror attack.
According to Israel HaYom, Sherech is a former security prisoner; yet, when he and his family saw the overturned car, they stopped to help. “As a doctor, I am committed to saving lives, whether Jewish, Muslim, or Christian” he said.
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Mark was unresponsive but Sherech was able to assist Mark’s wife and children.
“I put out my hand and for two minutes, I tried to open the door to get to the children who were suffocating in the car,” Sherech told the news agency. “I think that if they stayed there a little while longer, those children would have suffocated in the car.”
“Out of the shock she felt, the young daughter spontaneously grabbed me and jumped onto me. I immediately put my hand on her head and spoke to her in Hebrew, of course. I told her, ‘Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I will help you. Don’t worry.'”
Hatzalah Yehuda & Shomron (Rescue Judea &Samaria) as well as Rescuers Without Borders give Dr. Ali Abu Sherech a first-responder bag containing $1,000 worth of medical equipment. (Photo by Rescuers Without Borders)
The volunteer organizations of Hatzalah Yehuda & Shomron (Rescue Judea and Samaria) as well as Rescuers Without Borders recognized Sherech’s caring act this past Wednesday, awarding him a first-responder bag containing $1,000 worth of medical equipment. (Algemeiner)
Sherech’s aid is believed to have saved Hava’s and Tehila’s lives.
“Often our volunteer emergency responders, in coordination with the [Israel Defense Forces], are called in to treat Arabs in the area since they know Hatzalah Yehuda-Shomron provides top-notch lifesaving care,” said the organization’s spokesperson Josh Hasten.
“In this situation, the shoe was on the other foot, and we are grateful that a local Arab doctor was willing to fulfill his oath as a medical professional and try to save Jewish lives,” Hasten said in an interview with Arutz Sheva.
He expressed a desire that “all of our neighbors would learn from Dr. Sherech’s example.”
