From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
‘None of your hearts have turned to stone’: Biden lauds first responders to Hamas onslaught
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US President Joe Biden, along with charge d’affaires Stephanie Hallett and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meet first responders and doctors, including United Hatzalah founder Eli Beer, who treated victims of the Hamas onslaught.
Paramedics tell him about treating victims of the attacks in the field.
Biden responds by quoting an old poem that states, “too long a sacrifice makes a stone of the heart,” though he appears to replace sacrifice with the word “suffering” to more aptly apply to the current moment.
The US president notes that “none of your hearts have turned to stone” and expresses his admiration for how the medical professionals expressed pride in having treated victims regardless of whether they were Jewish or Muslim.
Biden says he is “convinced” that the more people know of these stories about the conduct of the medical professionals, “the more they’ll embrace Israel.”
Biden repeats the story that Golda Meir told him that Israel’s secret weapon is that the Jews have nowhere else to go. He also stresses that “you don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.”
Hallett tells Biden that the assembled Israelis are representative of the unity in the country.
The Times of Israel Community.