Rahm Emmanuel gives $550K to program training Palestinian doctors at Israeli hospital
Democratic politician dubs initiative ‘healthcare diplomacy,’ weeks after Tel Aviv speech warning Israel will become a pariah if it maintains Netanyahu’s policies
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Likely Democratic presidential hopeful Rahm Emanuel and his brothers Ari and Ezekiel announced on Monday a $550,000 donation to fund the training of 11 pediatric doctors and 36 pediatric nurses from An-Najah University Hospital in Nablus at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
The donation is aimed at opening the first pediatric healthcare facility in the northern West Bank.
Emanuel — a former congressman, chief of staff to former US president Barack Obama, Chicago mayor and US ambassador to Japan — bills the initiative as “healthcare diplomacy.”
“Kids and families get great care and doctors and nurses train together learning from each other, building hopefully a lifetime of trust,” he told Politico.
Last month, Emanuel gave a speech at Tel Aviv University that drew widespread coverage, during which he warned that Israel will risk becoming a “territorial pariah” if it continues its current path under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Responding to news of the Emanuel’s donation, Otzma Yehudit lawmaker and Knesset Health Committee chair Limor Son Har-Melech said she will work to block the initiative.
“The Israeli health system is intended first and foremost for Israeli citizens. I will not allow its resources to be used to build the enemy’s healthcare system,” she wrote on X.
It’s unclear whether the far-right MK has the authority to shut down the collaborative program organized by Project Rozana, but she said that she has written to Health Minister Haim Katz and the CEO of Sourasky Medical Center, demanding that they do so.
The Times of Israel Community.