Are Palestinian Arabs More Pragmatic Than Iraqis?

Saddam Hussein is gone, but that does not seem to have improved the mentality of your typical Iraqi:

The parents of Iraqi babies with congenital heart problems are facing a dilemma: should they allow their children to be treated in Israeli hospitals when they have been brought up to believe that Israel is their mortal enemy?

Hostility towards the Jewish state in Iraq is so strong that many parents refuse to travel to Tel Aviv for free life-saving hole-in-the-heart surgery.

Some accept the offer but never reveal where their children were treated, even though the operation has not been available in Iraq since its leading cardiac clinic burnt down after the American-led invasion in 2003.

Other parents are seeking treatment elsewhere in the Arab world, despite prices of up to £15,000 for heart surgery in private clinics. They fear the stigma of being treated in Israel. [hat top: Media Backspin]

You'd think that no one would be more stigmatized by the thought of being treated by an Israeli doctor than the Palestinian Arabs--and yet:

Medicine trumps politics for the Israeli army doctors serving on a West Bank military base near Ramallah who run an emergency clinic for local Palestinian villagers.

...“We’re the only army base in the country offering this service to surrounding Arab villages,” the M-16 toting young woman says.

This notion elicits a slew of questions. Why on earth would Palestinians opt for an Israeli army base rather than head to the closest Palestinian hospital? Why would Israeli military doctors permit treatment there, presumably endangering an entire base? And hang on just another minute: Isn’t this supposed to be war?

“You would think there would be a stigma attached to coming here,” Halamish base Chief Medical Officer Dr. Itay Wiser replies, shrugging his shoulders. “For villagers we’re closer than Ramallah Hospital. And sometimes, quite frankly, families come here hoping we’ll refer them out to Israel’s hospitals. They know the treatment is better.”

Young Shadi Sani’s Gaza interpreter confirms Wiser’s words. “We know medical treatment in Israeli hospitals is better. The situation in Gaza and the West Bank prevents us from getting superior care.”

Apparently, Palestinian Arabs--whose leaders insist they value death and are not afraid to die--in fact value the lives of their families more fearlessly than their Iraqi brothers.

Technorati Tag: Palestinians.