Israel 2026-07

Israel 14,

July 16, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Today I had a 9 to 5 shift with MDA which was a 1st for me. The 1st case involved a middle aged female patient with mild chest pain. We did the usual MDA work up before deciding that this was not an acute coronary syndrome. We gave her pain medication but no nitro. We then transferred her to Sheba Medical Centre for further evaluation and treatment.

The 2nd patient was a young man coming from Russia with his mother by plane. He presented with a rash (urticaria).We were called to rule out an anaphylactic reaction. The patient was in no acute respiratory distress. We brought him to a paediatric hospital.

The 3rd patient proved to be much more difficult in both complexity, diagnosis and treatment. The patient lived in Jaffa an Arab/Muslim neighbourhood which is renowned for crime but can be visited without fear during the daytime. A neighbour called the police to intervene with an elderly female patient exhibiting a psychotic, aggressive reaction. She was screaming and accusing her neighbours of many atrocities. The police called us for further evaluation. We spoke to the patient through a locked door which she would not open. The police then banged on the door to no avail.

After an hour of persuasion she consented to open the door. She would not settle down or allow us to bring her to hospital. We are not allowed to administer antipsychotics medication or to forcibly bring her to hospital unless she is a danger to herself or to others. This was not the case. We then called for back up which consisted of an MDA nurse trained for patients in psychosis. After 1 hour of discussion, the nurse called a physician for advice. The physician ordered antipsychotic medication to be administered by force if necessary. The police held the patient and the nurse gave her IM Haldol which calmed her down enough to allow us to bring her to the ER for further treatment. The entire process took 3 hours.

This evening I listened to a talk organized by Sar-El at Maxim Hotel. An Israeli, originally from Ethiopia gave an interesting rendition of his early life in abject poverty in a village in Ethiopia. The Israeli government arranged for a large scale rescue of the Ethiopian Jews to Israel. These people considered themselves to be Jewish and were unaware that a Jewish community existed elsewhere in the world. There customs were far different from modern Judaism. The religious leaders in Israel forced them to undergo a Jewish conversion which was very insulting to them. After 1 or 2 generations they have inter married with the resident Israelis and have been accepted into the community. The speaker, with no education, studied hard, served in the army and eventually became a professor.

I am at Mike’s one of my dinner hangouts. Once again I was served by a waitress who was originally from Ukraine and recognized me from previous visits.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 13,

July 15, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Last evening I decided to eat a light meal. I ate the usual soup at Maxim’s accompanied by my usual glasses of red wine. I had an orange and an apple saved from breakfast so I asked for a yogourt, mixed it with the fruit and made a fruit salad. Not bad for a guy who once boiled an egg and burned it.

I had a great team today with MDA, very efficient and kind to the patients. We had 3 cases of note as well as several cancellations for unknown reasons.

The 1st case was a 60 y/o lady who often comes to the hospital for a COPD exacerbation. This has in no way diminished her smoking habit. This time she had shortness of breath and a tightness in her throat due to perhaps an allergic reaction. She had quite a character and had us laughing all the time. She insisted on giving us candies. We brought her to the ambulance and initiated treatment with ventolin. Her condition improved rapidly and we transferred her to the hospital at a regular speed.

The 2nd case involved a 50 y/o worker who was suffering from minimal chest discomfort and palpitations on a construction site. We took a history and physical exam and placed him on an EKG monitor. His EKG was normal as were his VS. Nevertheless we transferred him to a hospital for monitoring, tropes, possibly an angiogram and holter monitor to rule out an arrhythmia.

The 3rd case was much more exciting. We were called to a rehab centre where a 70 y/o male patient who had suffered a stroke, was now presenting with the tonic and clonic contractions seen in acute epilepsy. He was unconscious of course. The team worked extremely quickly. We installed an IV and gave him an anti epileptic medication. We then placed an oro-pharyngeal tube in his mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue and to help him breathe better. We gave him oxygen and monitored his EKG. We rushed him to the hospital with sirens blazing. A report was emailed to the hospital. The physicians were standing by, awaiting our arrival. A stroke can mean either an intracerebral clot or a bleed. A CT scan will tell the difference and ‘clot buster’ medication can be administered if a clot is present. Time is of the essence to limit the brain damage.

I am now siting in one of my favourite restaurants on Dizengoff Square where all the action is in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Square is really a circle. In the middle of the square, there is a fountain lined with photos of the Israelis who we lost in the war. This is very similar to what I saw 2 years ago when pictures of the hostages were present.

Trump and Iran are still trading missiles with some falling on other Arab states. For the moment, Israel is sitting on the sidelines but that could change any minute. France is out in FIFA World Cup with England and Argentina advancing to the finals. Mesi is openly very pro Israel so it is obvious which team we are routing for.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 12

July 14, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I have many patients of Greek origin. On hearing that I was going to Israel, one elderly Greek gentleman told me the following story. I will forward the story to Vad Vashem and try to nominate him as a “Righteous Among the Nations.” This is an award given to non Jews who did a heroic deed to save Jews during the Holocaust. Here is his story:

As requested, I am writing to you to relate my husband’s experience while he was a very young boy living in the village of Prines on the island of Crete. He told me this in Greek and I am translating it into English exactly as expressed:

I, E. M., son of G. M. and E. A., was four years old when I had the following experience which has stayed in my mind all these years. I am now 88 years old and have lived in Canada since 1962 in Montreal. I have been married to A. C. for 62 years. I have two children, four grandchildren and one great grandson. I am now older and retired but I remember very clearly what transpired during that time.

I was born in the village of Prines, which is very close to the city of Rethymno. I was at the tender age of four years old when this took place. Greece, including the island of Crete was occupied by the Germans. The German army was all over the country. In our village, the Germans were occupying a big building across the street from my father’s general store, using it as one of their headquarters. We were afraid of them, as they executed everyone who resisted in any way. We were very careful not to offend them.

During this time, my parents were told by a Greek man in the village, who was part of a group, that was helping all the displaced Jewish people in Greece. My parents and every other villager had to take under their protection, two Jewish people each, to hide them out of the village in a safe place.

My mother and I took the two Jewish men assigned to us, who were exhausted, afraid, and felt lost, to a field we owned outside of the village. There was a large old olive tree in this field, approximately 200 hundred years old, with its large trunk hollowed out. The two men were hiding inside it all day. At night they came out of it for a while for fresh air. The Germans were afraid to go out at night, as they could not anticipate who would attack them, so it was safe for the two Jewish men to come out of the tree trunk.

My mother gave me a pot of food, folded in a large napkin, every night, and sent me to the field. The way was very dark and scary, so I was afraid. The trees looked huge and frightening. The cats on the branches of the trees had shiny piercing eyes. My mother had told me that the people would be hungry. She also told me to be extra careful, to not speak to anyone I saw on the path. I knew later that it was safer for me to go than a grown up. No one would suspect a young child. I would leave the food in another spot, never in front of the tree. As soon as I left, the Jewish men would come out and take the food.

This lasted for five to six nights. Then the Greek man who was with the group came and told my mother that they had to move the Jewish men to another location. My mother sent me with him to the hiding place. He spoke to the Jewish people in Hebrew. They understood that they had to leave with him. They went with him, and later heard they had walked all night to another hiding place near a port on the other side of the island, where the sea and ships were, and where arrangements could be made for them to leave the island.

We later found out that they had left, but we never found out where they were taken. My mother lit a candle and prayed every night for their safety and reunion with their loved ones.

This is a true story. I know that a lot of our villagers hid many displaced Jews. Hopefully, they all survived and joined their families elsewhere. Both I and the others did what we believed was right.

This is the truth.

E.M.

This is a wonderful story that I wanted to share with you.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026

Israel 11,

July 14, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I had dinner last evening at my favourite restaurant this year, La Mer. The service is slow but the food is good and the restaurant is right on the beach. On football FIFA nights there are large screens everywhere in the restaurant and even on the sand. I had a plate of morguez that was especially spicy. By accident I ate a hot green pepper and almost burned my taste buds. In India when a similar event occurred, the waiter provided me with some cream to swallow which removed the burning sensation immediately. Here, I cooled my mouth with gulps of cold beer.

Today was the quietest day that I ever had on an MDA ambulance. We started off with call about a homeless girl lying in the park. Our female chief went out to talk to her. The lady wished to be left alone, was in no acute distress and didn’t want our help.

The 2nd call concerned an 88 y/o female, some what overweight and short of breath. She had a low grade fever of 38.5C and was mildly short of breath. The rest of her VS were OK. We gave her some IV fluids and paracetamol which improved her condition. We had to carry her from her chair to our stretcher as she was incapable of moving by herself. I spoke English with her and learned that she was born in Israel.

The 3rd call concerned a 28 y/o female, premipar in her 3rd trimester, 29 weeks pregnant who had just lost her water. Both her and her husband were of course very worried. We did a basic evaluation and transferred her to an obstetric unit for further treatment.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 10,

July 13, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

After completing my blog on the terrace yesterday, I went down to the beach for my daily athletic event. I swam to the breakwater twice, a distance of 1k and then ran 5k on the beach. Some people have told me that they have been stung by jelly fish so I will have to be more careful with my swim. I wear swim goggles so I should be able to identify one before getting stung…

I purchased a day ticket that allowed me to go back and forth from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for 24 hours as well as to take unlimited trips on the local bus and light rail system in both cities. I met my cousin, David, in Jerusalem in front of the City Hall. The trip to Jerusalem takes 45 min and the light rail trip takes 10 min. I first met David 50 years ago in Trout Lake at my grandmother’s cottage and renewed acquaintances with him 2 years ago. He was a rabbi in the Israeli Air Force and now does IT research for the government. We are diametrically opposite on the religious spectre and still get along superbly. We went to an upscale restaurant in an upscale mall and had a wonderful dining experience together. I broached the political subject of the solution to the current crisis hoping naively for incite or an answer. Unfortunately at the present time there is none. I personally don’t think that Israel will strike Iran first unless Trump asks them to do so. On the other hand, Iran is striking Middle Eastern countries at will on a daily basis. I am scheduled to fly back to Canada on July 22. I have made a decision to stay and work with MDA if rockets are flying in Tel Aviv before I leave.

Today I worked an early shift with MDA. We had multiple false starts that were cancelled before arriving. The 1st case of note involved a 44 y/o worker how had a heart attack and cardiac arrest on the 5th floor of a building under construction. The white, BLS ambulance arrived first. The patient was in ventricular fibrillation requiring shocks twice. We learned of this before arriving, by the web. We ran up to the 5th floor with all our heavy equipment. They don’t let me carry anything probably believing that it would be too much of an effort on my part. They are right, 5 floors at full speed is enough cardiac exercise for me.

On arrival, the patient had partially regained consciousness. We did the usual routine, IV, EKG, oxygen, blood sugar, BP, pulse, fluids etc. We placed the patient on a back board for precaution. 6 of us then carried the patient down the stairs to our ambulance. We rushed the patient to the hospital with sirens blazing.

The 2nd patient was a small child with a possible anaphylactic shock from peanuts. This was not really the case but we took the patient to the hospital with appropriate monitoring for precaution.

I met several people at the Maxim daily cocktail, one of whom is a French-Israeli author and film maker of note. He has a Wikipedia page describing his accomplishments. That is my next goal. We exchanged emails and formed a WhatsApp group. Perhaps this will help me to advance my book sales.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 9,

July 12,

Hi Everyone,

I am sitting on the roof top terrace of my hotel gazing out at the dark blue Med and the clear blue sky. It is 25C, pleasant with a cool breeze. I am alone here after a filling Israeli breakfast. I counted 3 sail boats on the horizon, drifting along in a 5-10 knot breeze.

Last evening I walked around Tel Aviv for 3 hours. I strolled south along Hayarkon that follows the beach taking pictures of the expensive hotels and high rises. I then turned eastward entering the Neve Tsedek area. This area has been well renovated and contains row houses and many high quality shops and restaurants. I then continued through Florentin. This area has not been renovated at all. Purchase a house here, renovate it to perfection and you will do very well financially in 10 to 20 years. Certain streets contain wall to wall cafes and bars filled with 1000s of young people enjoying Saturday evening life in a big city.

Tel Aviv

Neve Tsedek

Florentin

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 8,

July 11, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Last evening I was invited for a Shabbat dinner at one of Vicki’s son’s homes. Several of her children were there as well as some of her grandchildren. She has a lovely family. She is divorced but seems to have a cordial relationship with her x, as he was present. I had an interesting discussion with him about his travels. He was originally from Washington DC. He travelled for 2 years from about 1970 to 1972. He went through Europe, Africa. South America and Asia eventually arriving back in the US 2 years later after many adventures. I travelled for 1 year in 1970-1971. I considered continuing to travel around the world but in the end, made the decision to go to France and study medicine. The road that you did not travel is the road that you will never know. We then had a stimulating political discussion around the table. No one knows will happen in the near future between Trump and Iran and how that will affect Israel. One of her children lived in NY for many years and another one in Boston. He will take up a position at the U of T for 1-2 years.

I worked 4, 12 hr shifts in the last 4 days so it was time for a rest today. I think that I am finally getting over the jet lag and was able to sleep 7.5 hr without waking up in the middle of the night not know the time or where I was. Today was laundry day. My old laundry place has closed down but a new one opened up 1 block away. My last 2 cappuccino cafes have closed but a new and better one opened up next door. My kickboxing school has closed down but a new exercise place opened up 1 block away. I will find out if it is the same instructor as last year.

In the afternoon I swam to the breakwater twice and ran 5k with ease. Maybe my triathlon won’t be too difficult this year. I will do 3 this year. 1 in Ontario to qualify for the Canadian team for next year’s World Championships. I will then do a sprint and a super sprint relay in Spain for Canada at the Worlds this year.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 7,

July 10, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I had an early shift today with 3 paramedics, 1 of whom I worked with last year. He is a physician who has completed his army service and is currently doing a rotating internship. He is considering doing ether paediatrics or paediatric surgery. I have him some advice. If he is intellectual he should do a medical speciality such as paediatrics. If he is good with his hands, he should do paediatric surgery. He will do a rotation at Schneider Paediatric Hospital and then make his decision. Today he gave me a brief tour of the hospital which has 1500 beds. There must be an endless supply of beds here as I have never seen anyone wait for more than 5 minutes in the ER and they appear to do a triage and hospitalize the patient very quickly.

The 1st patient was an elderly male, 76 years old. He was extremely skinny, lying in bed, on chronic oxygen therapy. On arrival in the apartment, I perceived a definite smell of cigarette smoke. We examined the patient who had shallow rapid breathing and many crepitations in his lungs. His EKG and BP were relatively normal. We gave him a treatment with ventolin inhalation and IV paracetamol and his condition improved. We then transferred him to the hospital.

The 2nd was a 77 year old female who had tripped on a small rug in front of her bed. She was lying on the floor with a deformed hip and her foot turned outward indicating a fractured hip. There was very little room to manoeuvre between her and the wall. We took a sheet off her bed and skillfully slid it under her. We collapsed the stretcher to a position 6 inches off the floor. We then lifted her onto the stretcher holding onto the sheet.

The 3rd patient was an elderly female of unspecified age. She was lying on the floor, obviously dead. We took an EKG which was flat lined. These people come from very tough stock. The husband was present, gave us a brief history, showing no emotion at all. He then took a picture of his deceased wife murmuring ‘this will be the last picture on my beautiful wife.’ In these cases we do not bring the patient to the hospital. The apartment was the most beautiful apartment that I have seen in Tel Aviv. There were floor to ceiling window giving a wonder view of the city including the sea. The floor was made of her black granite.

We had a couple of other cases which were cancelled on route that I need not describe.

Tonight, I will be dining with Vicki and her son for Shabbat. I bought a nice bottle of Italian wine from a wine merchant who was originally from Lyon and had been living in Israel for 44 years. I presented myself as a Francais-Anglophone from Canada who had lived for several years in Reims. He told me that the situation for French Jews in France is terrible. They are attacked from the left and the right wing as well as by the Arabs. They dare not wear a Magen David in public for fear of being beaten up. The ‘centre’ does nothing to protect them. Many Jews from France have purchased property in Tel Aviv and Natanya. Many others are considering leaving. What is this world coming to? Why should Jews living outside of Israel be blamed for Middle Eastern politics. Can you imagine if someone in Canada punched a Quebecois in the face for what the French did to the Hurons 300 years ago!!

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 6,

July 9, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Today was a rather slow day with MDA. However, every case is a new experience and there is always something to learn with each case.

The 1st case involved a 45 year old patient in a terrible situation. We were called to a residence where the patient was living. He had had a cardiac arrest either due to an arythmia or an MI. He was resuscitated but woke up with severe neurological damage. He had major extremity contractions and could not speak. He has some understanding of what was going on. He appeared to be septic either from a urinary tract infection or due to bed sores. His wife and 2 sisters were present and were extremely supportive of the patient. They could not reconcile with the situation and believed that the patient would improve with time. We did the usual bedside analysis and transported him to hospital.

The 2nd case involved a 20 year old man in a supportive care facility. He had been sexually aggressed at the age of 16 and could not get over the memory. From time to time he would have non epileptic seizures brought on by a stressful situation. We stood by him, protecting his head from injury during the seizure. On awakening he explained the situation to us. He was quite intelligent and was studying to be a social worker. We were both born on Aug. 24 which is a very rare date to have a birthday.

The 3rd case was a fire in an abandoned building. The fire dept. was there with hoses spraying a flame retardant liquid on the building. They then entered the building to ensure that there was no one present inside. There were several fire trucks, police and ambulances present. We found no one in the building but took pictures to explain the excitement.

The 4th case was of a 15 year old girl, in a school with a known history of violence. The chief allowed the young female paramedic in training to handle the situation. Alone in the room with the patient for ½ hour, she was able to convince the patient to come with us by talking quietly with assurance to the young girl. Although the police were there for support if necessary, they were not called upon to intervene.

I returned to my hotel at around 500 and went for my usual swim and run.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 5.

July 8, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I am at La Mer restaurant on the beach waiting to be served my salad and beer for the evening. After last nights victory of Argentina over Egypt in the last seconds of the game, everything else today seems to be a denouement.

My 2nd day with MDA today was rather routine. We had 3 or 4 calls that were cancelled on the way to the incident. Our 1st call of importance involved a middle aged male experiencing tachycardia. He walked into a government clinic resembling our CLSCs but much more equipped to handle minor to major cases, before calling an ambulance. The patient felt unwell and was found to have a pulse of 212 and a mildly elevated BP. He was sweating profusely but without chest pain. We diagnosed sinus tachycardia, started an IV, gave him 2 doses of adenosine and combined with a valsava manoeuvre, managed to get his pulse back down to 90. Had we been unsuccessful, and had he been unstable, we would have done a cardioversion and intubation if necessary in the ambulance. As usual everything proceeded efficiently with a well trained MDA staff. We transferred the patient to a hospital and learned that he had been discharged later in the day after seeing a cardiologist.

For the 2nd case we were called to a construction site where a worker had been injured. He had fallen backwards and reported pain in his hip. He had not lost consciousness. The white ambulance paramedics had already placed the patient on a back board and installed a neck collar for precaution. We walked up 5 stories, 3 flights of stairs for each story. We had to climb over several barriers. The paramedics carried up the equipment including a back board, an EKG cardioversion machine, a bag of medications and various other tools. I was happy to be able to carry myself up without help.

We re-examined the patient, changed the back board for a better one and placed him on a stretcher. He was totally immobilized. We then called the fire department who arrived with a hook and ladder truck. We placed the patient on a platform and lowered him 5 stories to our ambulance waiting below. We ran down the stairs to meet the stretcher and placed him in the ambulance. There must have been a dozen firemen, paramedics and other assistants present. Our chief paramedic took charge and quietly organized the rescue gaining the respect of all present by his efficient attitude and his know how. It was really fun and impressive to watch.

Our last case of the day was a small child who had vomited and had diarrhea. He was possibly mildly dehydrated. It was the parents1st child so the mother was notably concerned. We transported the child to an children’s hospital for observation.

I swam to the breakwater and then ran 5k. 2 17 year old fellows ran with me for half the distance. They were impressed that I was working as a volunteer with MDA. They asked me numerous questions about antisemitism in Canada. When you go to hospitals here, and to universities you observe how much the diaspora has donated to Israel to support the country. Our names are seen everywhere as donors. When Oct. 7 occurred, I knew that the world would support Israel for 2 weeks. Israel had to end the war in 3 weeks or lose support. The war has dragged on for various reasons for over 2 years. Israel has lost the propaganda war and we, living if the diaspora are paying the consequences with the unprecedented rise in antisemitism not seen since the 1930s. Israel must do more to support the diaspora or risk losing its support. Qatar spends billions of dollars to support American universities and turn the tide of support against Israel. Israel must find a way to counter act this growing problem.

Love,

Brian