Rambam Health Care Campus, the largest hospital in the north, is a symbol of and a model for coexistence. This can be seen among its employees—who represent all denominations and beliefs—and among its patients, who come from all over the country and other parts of the Middle East. This coexistence has withstood the test of many such crises, with Rambam serving as a bridge that brings people and hearts together.
Following turbulent days and the escalation in Israel’s security situation, Rambam Health Care Campus employees have chosen to send an important message to the general public – “we are together.” The medical staff, nursing staff, and employees from other sectors throughout the hospital are united in these difficult days under the umbrella of peace, coexistence, unity, and solidarity, and many of them chose to take part in a campaign showing colleagues and friends from different religions working side by side to provide the best possible healthcare. These individuals were photographed together, carrying signs of peace and seeking to convey this important message.
In addition, dozens of Rambam’s Arab and Jewish doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff members gathered on Friday to hold a solidarity rally, under the unambiguous slogan “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.” The rally’s organizers, Professor Gil Bolotin, Director of the Department of Cardiac Surgery; Professor Mogher Khamaisi, Director of the Department of Internal Medicine D; and Dr. Diab Mutlek, an attending physician in the Non-invasive Cardiology Unit; said, “We work side by side in the departments and the operating rooms. We are one big family, and this is our message.”
Last week, Rambam General Director Dr. Michael Halberthal, sent the following moving email to all hospital staff members, calling for everyone to protect the special place that Rambam has built over the years:
“Dear Rambam Employees,
We are all witnessing the recent events in the country, which are characterized by great tension and violence.
Rambam is a hospital where members of all denominations and religions from all walks of life, work side by side. We are all united around only one goal - to help our patients recover and make their hospitalizations easier.
Each of us holds diverse personal opinions and worldviews, but all of these are irrelevant to our shared mission in the hospital.
I hope and believe that Rambam, as a family with differences, will remain an island of sanity within the uneasy reality around us, standing together as we have done during all of the difficult trials we have experienced in recent years.
Therefore, when we, the employees from all the different sectors, enter the hospital and put on our work clothes, we leave the turbulent world behind us and concentrate on our shared goals.
We have built a special "home" here, one that we nurture as a place of harmony and inclusivity. One of which I am personally proud to be a part. Let us keep it going together.
With profound appreciation,
Michael Halberthal
General Director”
