Two of meeting's participants
Photo: Roy Turgeman
'We gave them life. So what if they're Arabs?'
On backdrop of Swedish article accusing IDF of harvesting Palestinians' organs, relatives of Israeli and Palestinian organ donors hold emotionally charged meeting at Tel Aviv hospital. 'We're all human beings, and it's time for the black propaganda against Israel to end,' says one meeting's participants
The families of Israeli and Palestinian organ and tissue donors hold a regular meeting once a month at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv in order to talk and support each other.
The meeting held last Wednesday was particularly charged, following a Swedish newspaper report which accused Israel Defense Forces soldiers of harvesting Palestinians' organs.
"The bottom line is that it's important for us to stress the reciprocity issue in donations between Arabs and Jews and between Jews and Arabs," one of the meeting's participants said. "Our message is that organ donation is saving lives without any conditions."
Yusra Ashur, one of the participants, said politics was not discussed during the meeting. "Each person gave from the bottom of his heart."
"We're all human beings," another participant said, "and it's time for this black propaganda against Israel to end."
"It hurt me to hear what was reported in Sweden," said Maya Kaveh, who lost her grandson in a road accident and had his organs donated to Arab patients. "People all over the world should hear our protest and condemn what was published there. We are not racist, and when we donate we do it wholeheartedly."
