After meeting patients and physicians at Ziv hospital in the north, Conan said the Israeli doctors caring for Syrian civil war victims “deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.”
American television host Conan O’Brien recently concluded filming a new special for “Conan Without Borders” in Israel.
The late night host had fun visiting Israel’s top attractions, including the Western Wall in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He also enjoyed meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his dog Kia.
The trip did become emotional and dramatic at times. One of those moments occurred when he visited Ziv Medical Center in northern Israel, where Israeli doctors have been providing medical care to Syrian casualties of war and refugees. After meeting with patients and physicians at the hospital, O’Brien said the Israeli doctors “deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.”
Ziv, in conjunction IDF, has been providing medical care to thousands of Syrians.
“I am amazed and excited by what is being done here at Ziv for the sake of people from a neighboring country and an enemy, and I think you are the ones who need to receive the Nobel Peace Prize,” O’Brien said during his visit, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Israel’s ‘Astounding’ Work with Syrian Refugees
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Michael Ratney, who also serves as US Special Envoy for Syria, said last month he was “astounded” by Israel’s humanitarian treatment of Syrians wounded in that country’s six-year-old civil war.
The medical treatment the refugees have received at Ziv Medical Center in Safed has been an illustration of “Israeli compassion and competence,” he said.
Ratney said he would “leave Ziv hospital with a profound appreciation for the heroic work you are doing treating Syrians wounded in their civil war.”
The State of Israel and citizens are said to have donated at least $32 million on goods for Syrian civilians this year, including $26 million from donations and $6 million from the army budget for the cause, the Haaretz daily reported last week.
The $32 million does not include the costs for the 3,500 Syrian patients who have received treatment in IDF-operated field hospitals along the border and in Israeli hospitals. The sum is estimated to run in the millions of dollars and is covered by the finance, health and defense ministries.
From August 2016 to June 2017, 92 pallets of drugs, incubators, ventilation machinery, two ambulances, 1,970 feet of pipes, seven generators, 100 tons of warm clothing, 363 tons of food and 1,800 packets of diapers were transferred to Syria.
In July, Israel officially acknowledged its aid to Syria, naming it Operation Good Neighbor. The assistance provided by the IDF includes 360 tons of food; 450,000 liters of gasoline, for heating, operating water wells, and ovens in bakeries; 50 tons of clothes; hundreds of packages of diapers; seven generators; six mules; and large quantities of pharmaceuticals such as painkillers and anesthetics.
By: United with Israel Staff