One news story on the crisis in Syria which has been kept fairly quiet, is the role Israel is playing in the conflict.  The BBC, Christian Science Monitor and a few other, mostly European News Agencies have reported on this story, but many others have failed to take notice.

Amid the dead and wounded citizens of Syria, the sworn enemy of Israel, there is a ray of hope and humanity taking place.  Israel, under great secrecy is treating some of the wounded from Syria.  It’s a mission that must be carried out under a cloak of great secrecy because Israel doesn’t want the Assad regime to be able to claim that it sides with the rebels as Israel has claimed neutrality in the civil war.  In addition, Israel simply doesn’t have the resources needed if there was to be a mass influx of patients.  To date, it’s estimated that more than 10,000 Syrians have been killed and scores more, injured.

What has been taking place demonstrates the true Soul of Israel and the high importance Jews and Judaism places on life.  Over the past six months, the Syrian injured have been transferred from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights to the Israeli side.  There, they are rushed to Israeli Hospitals for treatment.  As time has passed, it’s become more widely known that Israeli doctors are treating Syrian victims of the war.  So much so, that Syrian doctors are sending notes to their Israeli counterparts telling them about their injuries, offering any assistance to save the lives of the men, women and children needing care.  It’s estimated that to date more than 100 Syrians have been treated by Israeli doctors but that number could be far higher.

What’s so extraordinary about this mission of humanity is that’s it’s taking place despite the fact that a state of war exists between Syria and Israel.  Human beings, not governments are finding out things they never could have imagined.  That people, regardless of religion or culture can work together for the common good.  That people can change their minds and that perhaps the way to end wars is to search for our common goals and common decency, rather than focus on what divides us.  For the Israeli’s, this is who they are as Jews.  It’s what they stand for and who they are despite what the world may say.  There are those who will always despise Jews because of all of the preconceived notions and lack of understanding.  But what is taking place in Israel can only be summed up by an old Israeli/Jewish saying, “If you save one soul, it’s as if you have saved the whole world.”