Father’s Heart Attack Changed Son’s Life
Village by village, heart by heart, there is a connection happening in East Jerusalem that is crumbling walls of suspicion and creating pathways of understanding between Arabs and Jews. This may be the lifeblood for Israel’s future.
Twenty-five years ago, Fadi Dekaidek, an Arab Muslim from Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem, watched as Jewish medics from Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical system, saved his father Sameer’s life.
As they wheeled Sameer to the ambulance, he pointed at his son and challenged him with words that have anchored him ever since. ‘‘I want from you one thing: to be like these people, to learn to save lives, to live like the Israeli community. You know the Jewish people; they are good people. If I’m still alive, I want to see you like them: a good man.”
“I will never forget that,” Fadi said.
Sameer survived the heart attack, living another four years. He saw his son fulfill that life-changing command. Fadi started volunteering at Magen David Adom two years after the medics rescued his father from death. He learned how to administer first aid and then trained to become an emergency medical technician and ambulance driver. Today, he serves as a full-time paramedic.
Prior to his service with Magen David Adom, Fadi remembers a far different response to Magen David Adom in East Jerusalem.
“There are a half million Arabic people — Arabic Muslim, Arabic Christian — in East Jerusalem,” Fadi explained. “The people think the Israeli government did not want Muslims and Christians to be there. People said a lot of things about the Jewish people. They think the government wanted to kill people and take people to jail. Magen David Adom cannot go into my small village of Beit Hanina; people would throw stones and make a lot of problems for the teams and staff.”
The distrust and hate were fueled by misinformation. Lack of familiarity bred contempt. That is where Fadi’s story takes another inspiring turn.
“When I started to go to my village in East Jerusalem, the people asked, ‘What is that symbol on your shirt, the star?’ and I explained that this is Magen David Adom, the national organization of ambulances in Israel, and they come to East Jerusalem to save lives.”
And then there was the worldwide pandemic.
“We took the vaccination from Israel to East Jerusalem and started to give the vaccination to Arabic people, Muslims, and Christians, just to help people,” Fadi said.
“For Ori and me, it was very important that we take all we have to this community because if we take all that we have, then [the people of] this community will give back what they can, and that’s what we wanted. We wanted from the community two things: to learn how to save lives and to learn about Israel.”
Four years ago, Magen David Adom began a training program for youth volunteers 15 and older in East Jerusalem. In the first year, they learn how to treat patients and administer first aid. In year two, students train to become emergency medical technicians. In the last year, they take an exam and if they pass, they earn a diploma from the Israel Ministry of Education recognizing them as EMTs.
There are now about 200 Arab youth volunteers with Magen David Adom. There are another 300 adults. “We have a lot of men, a lot of youth. There are many women, women who wear the hijab (a Muslim head covering),” Fadi said.
And on October 7, there was another heart-stopper. “You know what the Arabic volunteers did on this Saturday? They asked if they could come to the station,” Fadi shared. “They said, ‘We understand what happened; we are all volunteers with Magen David Adom.’ They came to the blood center to help with all the people who came to donate.
“We sent teams and ambulances to help in Sderot and the kibbutzim,” Fadi added. “Muslim volunteers from East Jerusalem went to the south to help.”
When you ask Fadi how this tremendous change occurred, from animosity and distrust to sacrificial service, it is fairly simple. “When we put Arabic volunteers with the Jewish volunteers in the same ambulance, they’re talking together. This is the change.
“The Jewish people are not bad guys; the Jewish people are good guys,” Fadi added. “They’re Jewish; I’m Muslim; and we have Christians. All of us are human beings. All of us are people who want to live together, who want to live the real life, and who want to see the real picture.”
And they all have the same thing in mind: saving lives. Magen David Adom is making a change in East Jerusalem.
