Disabled Gaza baby lives in Israel hospital

[shira]

Abandoned by parents, 3-year-old amputee Mohammed won the hearts of his doctors, who fundraise his medical bills

Brit Perets, AP
Published: 05.03.13, 13:32 / Israel News

In his short life, Palestinian toddler Mohammed al-Farra has known just one home: the yellow-painted children's ward in Israel's Tel Hashomer hospital.

Born in Gaza with a rare genetic disease, Mohammed's hands and feet were amputated because of complications from his condition, and the 3 1/2-year-old carts about in a tiny red wheelchair. His parents abandoned him, and the Palestinian government won't pay for his care, so he lives at the hospital with his grandfather.

"There's no care for this child in Gaza, there's no home in Gaza where he can live," said the grandfather, Hamouda al-Farra.

"He can't open anything by himself, he can't eat or take down his pants. His life is zero without help," he said at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, part of the Tel Hashomer complex in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan.

Mohammed's plight is an extreme example of the harsh treatment some families mete to the disabled, particularly in the more tribal-dominated corners of the Gaza Strip, even as Palestinians make strides in combatting such attitudes.

more...
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4375600,00.html

[delrem]

1. This OP is racist.

Clicking the link and entering the racist sewer:

"Mohammed's plight is an extreme example of the harsh treatment some families mete to the disabled, particularly in the more tribal-dominated corners of the Gaza Strip, even as Palestinians make strides in combatting such attitudes.
It also demonstrates a costly legacy of Gaza's strongly patriarchal culture that prods women into first-cousin marriages and allows polygamy, while rendering mothers powerless over their children's fate."

The innuendo: the child's plight was a deliberate result of action intended by his parents, grandparents, culture.
Conclusion after the innuendo: it's all a result of inbreeding, which defines Palestinian culture.

[oberliner]

2. Everyone should read this response

It provides some really valuable insight into the person who wrote it that might help others understand where they are coming from.

[King_David]

6. Unbelievable !

But not surprised.

[jessie04]

3. Yup...that doctor looks real racist towards that child.

ugg

[delrem]

4. Saying nothing about the doctor! Judging the article.

[shira]

5. Ridiculous.

First cousins within Israel's ultra-orthodox Jewish community also marry routinely. No one would object to such information being included in any health article WRT Jews.

[King_David]

7. Your response tells more about yourself than anyone else ,

When Israeli Jews do good things you just want to pull your hair out...

Right ?

[delrem]

8. No. Not right.

I can understand the feel good qualities of this article.

The Israeli response to this child's case is terrific, in itself, and would be even better if it were the rule. But as is, the article is nothing but feel good propaganda for you, shira, oberliner and other right wingers to rally around, pretending it represents a wider reality.

The article describing this, though, paints a social background for the child's plight in half-true colors. It carefully selects "truths" most damaging to a view of Gazan people and culture, focusing on "backward, inbred". Nothing else. The article doesn't mention that Gaza is a small and overpopulated bit of land composed 80% of refugees, whose economy is deliberately kept in tatters, in destitution, by a military siege; and whose physical infrastructure, including its aquifers and hospitals, have been destroyed; and whose economy is flatly denied existence by Israel.

Even after re-reading, twice!, after your rebukes, my opinion is that the article is pure dog-whistle racist propaganda.

Do I think all Israeli Jews are racist assholes? No. For example in the thread after the OP
"WATCH: IDF Soldier Screams At Israeli Activists: 'You Are Worse Than The Arabs'"
I totally support the Jewish Israeli activists being abused by the IDF goon for accompanying Palestinians on a dangerous activity, namely walking over and tending to their own land.

It's you who always wants to make it about racism. I don't. The Palestinians and the Jewish Israelis accompanying them and supporting them in the abovementioned OP (as also in "5 broken cameras&quot , don't .

So there are plenty of people on every side who don't want to make it about racism. Who want to make it about equality of persons, regardless of race, etc.

It seems to me that you have problems with *those* people, who don't want to make it about racism, because they tend to take Zionism to task - or rather, to question, in light of universal principles, the rightness of the fact on the ground political, military, legal *product* of Zionism. One of your responses to this critique, shared by shira, pelsar, Mosby, and others, is to label such a critique of Zionism as "anti-Zionism" and to label "anti-Zionism" as identical to "antisemitism", and to charge everyone who dares question Zionism with being an antisemitic racist.

It all reminds me of the worm uroburos, eating its own tail.

[pelsar]

9. you obviously agree with making general accusations....

One of your responses to this critique, shared by shira, pelsar, Mosby, and others, is to label such a critique of Zionism as "anti-Zionism"

sine you obviously make accusations that are not true, i dont see why you have a problem with the article which in fact does contain truths. (perhaps thats why?), unlike your own accusations which infact dont alway contain any truth?

an article that writes about some aspects of the Palestinians culture, that in fact is no secret to anyone who knows anything about them, is hardly racist. In fact its the bigots that dont want it written about, its the bigots that want to pretend that their culture has no problems, or it "shouldnt be mentioned" since it "harms their nationalistic" cause.

Your additions that you complain are not in the article are all related to your nationalist view which is apparently is why you dont like it and not related to the actual subject..(we'll ignore the irony of that coming from u for the meantime)

is it racist to talk about the inbreeding in the village of Al-Sayyid and how it affects the inhabitants? They're israelis, but their Bedouin, so which is the correct political position? Is that ok and its not ok to talk about the Palestinians inbreeding?....

i dont know if my response fits your criteria for what is appropriate, so you have a few options:
1) answer like a respectful adult
2) tell me to "shut up' ,which of course i shall ignore
3) ignore my response
4) call me name

[delrem]

15. OK - I respond.

quoting

Me:
"One of your responses to this critique, shared by shira, pelsar, Mosby, and others, is to label such a critique of Zionism as "anti-Zionism""

You:
since you obviously make accusations that are not true, i dont see why you have a problem with the article which in fact does contain truths. (perhaps thats why?), unlike your own accusations which infact dont alway contain any truth?

Me: Since you say that my accusation, that shira, pelsar, Mosby, you and others label critiques of Zionism as "anti-Zionism" is a lie - and let's NOT leave out your claim "anti-Zionism = antisemitism" a la David Duke etc., then I say forgive me for my lie, since the lie came from significant provocation, and I ask you to please understand me when in future I expect you to *drop* the accusation "x is an anti-Zionist, anti-Zionist = antisemitic, so x is antisemitic" line. OK?

You:
"an article that writes about some aspects of the Palestinians culture, that in fact is no secret to anyone who knows anything about them, is hardly racist. In fact its the bigots that dont want it written about, its the bigots that want to pretend that their culture has no problems, or it "shouldnt be mentioned" since it "harms their nationalistic" cause.

Me: My complaint was about the self-serving selectivity of the article, which so satisfies you, Mosby, pelsar, shira, and others who, in regard to these issues, lap this shit up.

[pelsar]

17. still have some growing up to do.....

Me: My complaint was about the self-serving selectivity of the article, which so satisfies you, Mosby, pelsar, shira, and others who, in regard to these issues, lap this shit up.

appartently you just dont like the article since it concentrates on parts of the Palestenian culture that has nothing to do with israel..and thats the part which seems to bother you:

The article doesn't mention that Gaza is a small and overpopulated bit of land composed 80% of refugees, whose economy is deliberately kept in tatters, in destitution, by a military siege; and whose physical infrastructure, including its aquifers and hospitals, have been destroyed; and whose economy is flatly denied existence by Israel

btw...shall i count the falsehoods here? i count 5
_________________________________

[delrem]

21. Yes, the article "concentrates", that's for certain.

[King_David]

29. "It's you who always wants to make it about racism. I don't. "

"Even after re-reading, twice!, after your rebukes, my opinion is that the article is pure dog-whistle racist propaganda.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha

Ha ha ha ha ha ha

[DesertFlower]

26. i think it's unfair to call the OP racist.

he posted a story with a link.

[azurnoir]

10. IMO this article is shameless

it blatantly uses the plight of a disabled child to falsely portray Palestinians as heartless, inbreeding, primitives

it has been posted here twice BTW this thread and this one

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113440897

it could seem the articles portrayal of Palestinians is a popular idea to promote

[pelsar]

11. only if you ignore this sentence...

Mohammed's plight is an extreme example of the harsh treatment some families mete to the disabled, particularly in the more tribal-dominated corners of the Gaza Strip, even as Palestinians make strides in combatting such attitudes.

nothing wrong with an article that comments about their culture and frames it within their attempts to change. Not to mention the relationship of israel helping the child....which relates to the general subject matter.

of course if one looks at everything through the simplistic nationalistic lens (anything that harms the nationalitic goal is to "not to be mentioned" than yes i can see how you wouldnt want such an article/subject published....

[azurnoir]

12. Thanks for the re-enforcement

the article mumbles that then goes on and on and on about how nasty those Palestinians are

[azurnoir]

13. and exactly what "simplistic nationalism" are you going about?

do you feel the article harms Palestinian national interests?

[pelsar]

14. i think its good that a cultures warts are exposed

but classic nationalism, where national aspirations are the foremost goal, second to none, never like seeing publicized any critique upon the society...

we see that a lot around here....


do you think the article is false? are their falsehoods in it? lies?
(as per the israeli "organ stealing article" of years past)
______

and to put a bit of realism on it:
since hamas sury wont write about it, the UN wont...and the only information about the child is in israel, and you object to the child's plight being written up...i guess our only conclusion is that you would rather not have the child's story published....

[azurnoir]

16. IMO the article is attempting to portray Palestinians

in a bad light, period for some that is comforting for others it is offensive, it says in a single sentence that this is only in 'corners of Gaza' but then goes on to make out that there is no place in Gaza that will accept this child

will this kind of stuff have much effect on the final out come-no it won't

[pelsar]

18. is it true of false

in your opinion....

[azurnoir]

19. both IMO

in some cases yes in others no, the trick is in the presentation, the advertising so to speak

[pelsar]

20. but you live for that stuff

any hint of a settler/IDF soldier being "bad guy" you'll defend, as possible, maybe, of course its possible.....you never as far as i can recall, would defend the idea that maybe its "not true" and is "shameless"

your objection here is that simply that it doesn't follow your version of how the "tale should be told"
___

so its not shameless..its just not following the narration that you prefer....

[delrem]

22. Your problem is: people who have moral objections to Israel's siege and occupation.

There can be no doubt that all IDF soldiers, when born, are pure of heart.
(I totally reject the RC doctrine that I was born of "original sin&quot

But whatever. Whatever! All IDF soldiers are asked to serve in an occupation of Palestine and in the service of an explicitly, vehemently avowed, Jewish state.

That might be a recipe for PTSD.

[pelsar]

25. you really dont like facts do you.....

Your problem is: people who have moral objections to Israel's siege and occupation
All IDF soldiers are asked to serve in an occupation of Palestine


zero for 2...

you forgot to call me something or other...

[King_David]

34. "you forgot to call me something or other..."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113441352

Delrem has called me an "asshole" twice before, once it was hidden by a jury.

[azurnoir]

23. your not getting it

what I don't like about this article why I said what I said about it is this-it essentially took what could have been a very touching story about a little boy from Gaza being treated in Israel and turned it into a rant against Palestinians

[pelsar]

24. i get it...your looking for the rant...

i read a problem that is within the Palestinian culture, that is foolish to deny, and how in one small instance israel helped solve a personal problem....and that the child has a rough life waiting him.

the fact that the Palestinian society has strong tribal ties, is patriarchal is nothing new and it has strong affects upon how they actually live...this being a single example...why deny such a fact? just because you dont like it? It actually affects their lives far more than the blockade.

If i were to publish a serious cultural analysis of their culture with the real results that occur in patriarchal societies (more so hamas with its religious govt), I would be lambased as 'racist' bigoted" etc, not because it may be true or not, but because such cultures do not look good in western eyes, and you would prefer not to read about it.

something that we see everyday in 972, on news programs in israel and in haaretz...

i dont believe the Palestinians deserve anything less, exposure of their warts

[azurnoir]

27. what is the subject of the article? a little disabled boy

or the presumed treatment of the disabled by Palestinians? see it advertises it's self as one and then rapidly proves to be the other

[pelsar]

28. i just read about the kid....

maybe because i already know about their society, knowing that what happened to the child is not unheard of, i was more interested in his present life while wondering about his future life.

perhaps for others who either don't know about the Palestinian society, or prefer not to know, or have a political agenda and such public aspects interfere....they read it differently.

and there are others who dont want to read/hear that israel give medical help to the Palestinians of gazes and that its not just because they dont have the means.....
____

either way, for those who are interested in the conflict, by reading the article that have now received additional information about israel and gaza relations, additional information about the gaza, its society and how those who live within its borders actually live......

not bad for those who are interested in understanding what the consequences of an independent Palestine/gaza may actually mean for its citizens.

[azurnoir]

30. I disagree because you see there are 3 actually 4 other articles about this kid

none of which go into the lurid inbreeding and other suggestions that this one does

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gaza-boys-home-is-israeli-hospital/story-e6frg6so-1226636309243

http://www.newsdaily.com/article/7d680b50b906dae63e3d4299e04fa9e9/hamouda-al-farra-mohammed-al-farra-raz-somech

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/03/mohammed-al-farra-disabled-gaza-toddler_n_3208158.html

http://www.newsdaily.com/article/5d0390656a6236b27759281c3728ca11/hamouda-al-farra-mohammed-al-farra

also the claims about families in Gaza seems pretty much blown because the kids Grandfather is with him in Israel

[pelsar]

31. so is it false?..the inbreeding?

why is it bad to know? genetic defects are a common problem with inbreeding, if a society accepts it, i would think it should be publicized as the first step for change....

you prefer that it not be written about? you prefer ignorance over knowledge as per your links?

should CNN have not publicized this?

"It is astonishing that we have [so] many cases with this defect, which is very rare all over the world," Abudaia says. He attributes the high frequency of this birth defect to "consanguinity," or in-breeding.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/17/gaza.gender.id/index.html

[azurnoir]

32. Interesting story however the condition described is caused by a mutation in genes

not necessarily cousins marrying cousins, as shira was kind enough to point out in comment #5

shira (17,938 posts)
5. Ridiculous.

View profile
First cousins within Israel's ultra-orthodox Jewish community also marry routinely. No one would object to such information being included in any health article WRT Jews.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113440975#post5

does this condition show up in the Orthodox community as well?

[pelsar]

33. not being a geneticist...i can't say..but

apparently inbreeding and the genes that develop are local:

Al-Sayyid is has a high percentage of hearing problems

Abu Ghosh is a highly inbred community of more than 2000 Israeli Arabs in which all members are descendants of two brothers and in which individual blood pressures, rates of hypertension, and corresponding morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease are inordinately high
______

if you dont want to believe that the problem is due to inbreeding, clearly you don't have to.....though I don't see the problem with believing it, and i dont see why it should be "hidden."

[azurnoir]

35. Thanks

seems your sort of enamored with the idea of Palestinian inbreeding, couldn't have asked for more

[pelsar]

36. enamored?.....its called Cultural anthropology

you dont believe in the subject? ....what i do find interesting is how their different values are ignored by so many of the progressive belief.....

how their different values are to be suppressed, or ignored or pretend that they dont exist...all for the greater belief known as progressivism, that apparently some believe is the ultimate belief and supersedes all other values and beliefs.

the inbreeding happens, it happens in specific cultures and in the middle east of the druze, jews, christians, kurds, bedouin, Circassians and arab muslims....

it has its highest percentage amongst the bedouin and the arab muslims.....now that i've written that out very clearly, you may take that, quote me and if you would like claim i hate muslims arabs bedouin and that i've made false accusations about their inbreeding because i think they have smaller brains, cant think very fast and have 6 toes...

feel free....i wont even contradict you.

[azurnoir]

37. Thanks again please do keep going

and I don't have to claim anything just keep on commenting please

[pelsar]

38. my pleasure...

so who are the racists?

it can be a progressive, a taliban, a syrian jihadist, a republican, a democrat, a libertarian...all have the same quality as to believing that their beliefs are the proper ones and the others are wrong.

the racism part comes in as to how they look upon the others 'the wrong ones". Given that i'm more of a libertarian, a belief i have chosen since i do believe its the most tolerant of the list above. The others for the most part exhibit similar intolerant traits for those beliefs that are unacceptable.

the progressives, like the others have a very intolerant attitude toward other beliefs and love to use the word "racist"..that apparently is the like the "ultimate" insult, something akin to heretic for the christians. But more interesting is their belief of the "ends justifies the means" This was a surprise to me. Assuming that the DU is indicative of the progressive belief, its easy to see that, with all of the exaggerations and lies about israel, about the IDF, about israels policies claimed here and how even when shown to be wrong, its changes nothing in the posters claims...they just go on to make new claims, equally exaggerated, equally wrong....all in the name of the progressive goals......

this to me is an immoral belief, but apparently its one of the foundations of the "progressive religion. If it wasn't, when the various exaggerations and lies are brought up about israel, there would be a general protest by all of the posters here..but there never is....hence my conclusion that "the ends justifies the means" is a standard.

sad but true
and i wont be refuted on this will i?

[azurnoir]

39. I do not have to say a word :)

[pelsar]

40. of course not....

what do you have to refute?

your one of the strong believers that the "end justifies the means"