MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Welcome to the Palestinian culture of death …

By Graeme Hamilton – “MONTREAL — Raz Somech, director of immunology at Israel’s largest pediatric hospital, is trained to save children’s lives. But in the Middle East, even a heroic struggle to keep a baby alive can become entangled in the region’s politics.

The documentary Precious Life has turned the unassuming Dr. Somech into a celebrity with its portrayal of his effort to save a Palestinian baby born without an immune system. On Monday night he will be the star attraction at a screening of the film in Montreal as part of the Israel Film Festival.

His unexpected fame began with an action that to him was simply his duty as a physician. A sickly four-month-old Mohammed Abu Mustafa had arrived at the emergency room from Gaza. ‘It was very easy to diagnose him as having a severe type of immunodeficiency,’ Dr. Somech said in an interview. The same genetic condition had already claimed the lives of two of Mohammed’s sisters, and without a costly bone marrow transplant, it was unlikely he would survive beyond his first birthday.

… And even after the funding has been secured and the transplant performed, Mohammed’s mother, Raida, makes a statement that calls into question all the efforts to save his life.

As she and the filmmaker, Israeli TV reporter Shlomi Eldar, discuss the status of Jerusalem, Raida says she would be proud to see her son grow up to be a suicide bomber. ‘Even the smallest infant, younger than Mohammed, to the oldest person, we’ll all sacrifice ourselves for Jerusalem,’ she says. Asked by a dumbfounded Mr. Eldar whether she would let Mohammed become a shahid, or martyr, if he recovers, she replies, ‘Absolutely. If it’s for the sake of Jerusalem, I would.’ Life, she says, is not precious.”  Read more.