A rainbow over Efrat

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:43–45)

Although Western media often presents an entirely negative picture of Jewish-Arab relations, here in Israel, the reality on the ground can often be positive.

Dr. Yitzchak Glick is one Jewish doctor whose labor of love has earned him the appreciation of the Arabs.

Glick, who is from Efrat, Israel, provides weekly free house calls to seven Arab villages within Gush Etzion, a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank.

“The people here don’t forget what I and other doctors from Efrat have done—from treating expectant mothers and providing free medicine to saving lives, you become part of their families,” said the U.S.-born doctor, who made Aliyah in 1974 with his parents.

At this laying the cornerstone ceremony for the Efrat Emergency Medical Center, Dr. Glick is seated in the middle.  (YouTube Capture)

Glick doesn’t only make house calls.

In 2000, during the second intifada, Glick founded the Efrat Emergency Medical Center to serve both Israelis and Palestinians.  The center treats about 50,000 people a year from the area of Hebron and Gush Etzion.  (Algemeiner)

“Co-existence has always been behind the mindset of Efrat’s founders and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin,” Glick said.  “There have always been good neighborly relations between many of the local Palestinians and the community of Efrat.”

Glick’s ties with the Arab villagers are so strong that the villagers have warned officials in Efrat several times about terror cells planning to attack the primarily English-speaking community.  (San Diego Jewish World)

In recognition of Glick’s outstanding contributions, he was awarded the Presidential Award for Volunteerism by Shimon Peres in 2009, and the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism in 2012.