Steering Committee on Health

FAR has formed the Steering Committee on Health, which is made up of private Israeli and
Palestinian doctors. The Committee is supported by the Israeli General in charge of the
Territories, and encouraged by the Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health.

The Steering Committee on Health unanimously elected Leo Kramer as Chairman with a
responsibility to ensure results and focus on and deliver cooperation. There was
tremendous enthusiasm and commitment to results. He decided that this would be a
wonderful step forward not only to improve health in the West Bank and Gaza, but as an
example of positive cooperation between the two sides.

The response to the project from many high-level officials has also been encouraging. The
Palestinian Health Ministry sent a letter stating that “[We] would like to extend its best wishes
to you, and to thank you very much for your continuous support of the health sector”.
They also sent a long list of medical priorities. The Israeli Minister of Health has said that
“I am most grateful for your endeavors, and my door will always be open to any health care
measure you wish to propose.”

In  the words of the Honorable Lee Hamilton, President of the Woodrow Wilson Center for
Scholars: “You are to be commended for the practical solution and confidence-building in
which you have been engaged. Much of the work may be in medical and health areas
but that has important ramifications well beyond these areas.”

FAR has always been committed to a just and peaceful resolution to the conflict. FAR
believes that an essential small step forward is the concrete proof that both sides can work
together to achieve mutually desirable goals.

As part of our experience, as a volunteer devoted to improving the situation, the FAR
president facilitated an agreement between the introduction of Canadian doctors specializing
in hearing problems to teach Palestinian doctors how to improve the hearing of children in
Gaza, a serious problem there. This was done with full cooperation of the Israeli
Ministry of Health.