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 2026-07

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 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 2026-06

Israel 4,

July 7, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Today I did my 1st shift on an MDA ambulance. The day started off slowly and ended up even slower. I was with a very good team so the shift was fun anyway. One of the paramedics was doing his last year of training. He had already done his 3 years of military service and then spent 2 years travelling around the world. He is hoping to get into medical school the following year.

The 1st call was reported to us as a drowning. While racing along to the beach, the call was cancelled as the would be patient started swimming. The 2nd call was for a lady unconscious but breathing and lying on the street. On the way to the scene, the call was cancelled as the lady woke up and walked away.

The 3rd call was a terrible tragedy. We were called to one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Tel Aviv. The house was a beautiful white bungalow on a large property that was in the process of being renovated. We were told that a young 22 year old man was unconscious on the floor. The family had not seen him since the evening before. When we arrived it was obvious the man was dead and had been dead for several hours as rigor mortis had already set in. There was a computer with several screens on the desk and empty bottles of psychiatric medications near by. The young man was a Muslim and in service with the IDF. His father was away on business, apparently a CEO of well known bank. The police, 2 motorcycle ambulances, a white BLS ambulance and us in a yellow MICU ambulance were all present but there was nothing to be done except to pronounce him as deceased. I can say no more. We were all saddened by the apparent suicide.

The 4th call evolved an elderly woman living in a hospice. She had a severe history of cardiac disease and had had a stroke in the past. Her medical history, type written on 3 pages was given to us. We made the initial diagnosis of septic shock and did the appropriate management, IV fluids, epinephrine, history and physical exam, etc. She appeared to improve in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. On arrival, she was transferred to the hospital stretcher, placed in an ER room and had medical attention with physicians and nurses immediately. In Israel, I have always been impressed with the efficiency of the medical system when we bring a patient to the hospital.

The last call at 3:00 just as our shift was ending was a psychotic patient who had stabilized so the call was cancelled.

I returned to my hotel and went down to the beach. There were 1meter waves making swimming difficult. I swam ¾ of the way to the breakwater and back twice. Going out any farther would have been dangerous. The life guards were whistling people in if they swam out too far. I then ran 5k on the beach in less than 44 min.

I took a short nap and then went to La Mer restaurant to eat and watch the Egyptian – Argentina game. The place was packed with chairs and tables extending out onto the sandy beach. There were at least 1000-2000 fans present. Everyone was routing for Argentina especially after the incident which occurred after Egypt won their last game. The Egyptian coach ran onto the field after the win with a Palestinian flag saying that the team had won the game for Palestine. Politics are not supposed to be allowed at World Cup tournaments, but the incident was ignored by the refs. Egypt erected a huge high wall between Gaza and Egypt to keep the Palestinians out. I guess that he forgot about that wall. The restaurant was dead silent after Egypt took the lead with 2 goals. I was still hopeful that Mesi would prevail with goals. He did not disappoint us. In the closing minutes of the match, Argentina took the lead with 3 goals winning the match. The place went wild with everyone celebrating and congratulating each other. What a win!!

I struck up a conversation with a gentleman sitting beside me at the table. His name is Mikolaj Zalasinski and is a famous opera singer. He has been invited all over the world to be the lead singer in several operas. He will be singing in the opera, Tosca in the Tel Aviv opera house. He will try to get me invited as a guest. They have been practicing for several weeks. I love opera and will be very excited if he can get me a ticket. He was very impressed that I wrote a book about Israel. Apparently, his grandmother is Jewish.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-06

Israel 3,

July 6, 2026,

I slept for 8.5 hours so I think that I am all caught up from sleep deprivation from the time change and my 36 hour voyage from hell. As they say, no pain, no gain.

Last evening I wandered over to Mike’s one of my favourite brasseries on the beach. It was a warm 23C with a cool breeze, just right to have a beer, in a pub, with the Med in the background, and watch the Norway-Brazilian football World Cup match. I was at a table with a family of Brazilians who had made Aliyah to Israel many years ago. They were very friendly and expressive but unfortunately it did not help their team win the match.

At the Maxim Hotel, you are free to sit at almost any table as the hotel caters to volunteers. I played ‘Jewish geography’ with a lady who was originally from Montreal and now lives in Toronto. She grew up in the CDN and CSL areas and we had many common acquaintances. I then spoke at length with a lady originally from South Africa and who now lives in Australia.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach doing my usual activities. I am really a beachcomber at heart. In my spare time there is nothing more that I would like to do. I am not really very intellectual at heart. I was 30C with a slight breeze and only the occasional 2 foot breaker. I swam to the breakwater, 500m there and back with ease. The life guards must be getting used to me swimming out that far as they didn’t whistle me in. I didn’t hear a whistle anyway and I was the only one out swimming that far. I then jogged 5k on the beach knocking off 2 min from my time yesterday. If I continue at this rate I will be down to 0 in 3 weeks which is impossible if you do the math.

I bought a Magnum ice cream bar at 3:30 and got so excited by the prospect of eating an ice cream on the beach, that I got carried away and dropped my credit card on the sand. A ‘kid’ picked it up and spent 135 shekels ($65) before I could cancel it. It must have been a kid, as a pro would have made an attempt to empty my bank account. The store got the thief on their camera and I will review it later in the week. I don’t know if they have ‘wanted dead or alive’ posters here.

I am at the La Mer Restaurant overlooking the beach eating my 1st solid meal in 3 days. I really have not been hungry and except for breakfast, have only consumed liquids. There is a live band here to encourage me as I devour a margarita pizza and a local Maccabi draft beer.

Tomorrow, I will do my first shift with MDA so you can expect a full account of my cases.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-06

Israel 1,

July 4, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

No matter where I want to travel, I always seem to have problems at the airport. This time is no exception.

I am going to Israel to volunteer as a physician/paramedic on a Magan David Adom (ADM) ambulance. This is the 3rd time that I am doing this in 3 years since the start of the Swords of Iron War. 2 years ago MDA accepted 150 volunteers mostly from the US with a few from Canada. Last year, I believe that only 2 were accepted and this year I think that I am the only one. This is probably due to the fact that I know Vicki personally. She is in charge of the volunteers and has been instrumental in finding me a place on an ambulance.

Once again, I will be staying at the Maxim Hotel on Hayarkon St across the street from the sea. Most of the volunteers stay at the hotel while in Tel Aviv. There are large round tables in the dinning room and you are free to sit at any table and introduce yourself. “Hi, my name is Brian, I am from Canada.” It sounds a lot like AA where you introduce yourself by saying: “Hi, my name is Brian, I am an alcoholic.” I think that alcohol and volunteering in Israel both become highly addictive.

I originally had a flight from Montreal to Tel Aviv with a stop over in Paris for 5 hours. The flight was supposed to leave at 5:00 pm but was cancelled. I usually don’t like to fly to Europe late in the afternoon, as it robs you of a night sleep and you arrive early in the morning sleep deprived. The flight was reschedule for 10:30 and then 11:30. I was able to obtain 3 seats in a row so I stretched out to sleep for the trip. Knowing that I would miss the corresponding flight to Tel Aviv, I was rebooked on a plane to Athenes and then to Tel Aviv.

I was woken up 1 hour later for dinner. The food was pretty good and I had a small bottle of red and a sleeping pill. I like to fly with Air France because they offer a glass of champagne as an apero. Unfortunately the glass slid on the table spilling half of the glass. I will be more careful next time.

I arrived in Paris late, just in time to see my corresponding flight to Athens take off. I am now booked on a plane to Vienna with a correspondence to Tel Aviv, arriving at 5:00 am, 14 hours later that my original itinerary. If everything else goes as planned, door to door, I will have travelled for 35 hours.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day. I was hoping to see the Canada – Morocco game in Tel Aviv but will obviously miss it. Perhaps I can catch up with the news in the airport.

Love,

Brian

2025-03 Israel

Israel 29,

April 19, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

This is my last evening in Israel and could well be my last entry for this trip. The manager of Maxim Hotel allowed me to have a late check out without paying for the night. That was very nice of him as I know him very well from this year and last year. I have a 6:00 am flight for Ben Gururion Airprort to Vienna with Austrian Airlines. I will try to get a few hours sleep from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am when I will drive to the airport to drop off my car.

If I am lucky they will allow me to stay in the fancy Dan Lounge at the airport for a few hours. My expensive Visa and Master Card credit cards sometimes allow me this privilege. This morning I met up with my cousin Erez and his running partner who I know from previous jogs. He was with his son so they were faster than me and went a head of us. Richard ran at my pace and we covered 9 km in 1:15 or so. We then went out for a 500m swim. The water was cool but great for swimming once you got past the 1st 10 strokes. We then met up with his wife at Golda’s a fabulous ice cream place for frozen yogurts. I hope that I ran and swam enough to work off the calories.

In the afternoon after packing, I went out onto the beach for my last sun tanning and swimming. I lie in the sun for 30 min and then go for a 15 min swim. I also picked up a few rocks on the beach for my kid’s and friend’s rock collection. I walked along the beach until I found the noisiest bar and restaurant. The music is deafening, a real party atmosphere which is just what I need for my last evening in Tel Aviv. I am treating myself to a white fish brochette and a beer while sitting on a high chair at a table over looking the beach. Why not, I guess that I have to celebrate a successful adventure in Israel.

Today Trump is meeting with Iran to discuss nuclear disarmament. In my opinion it is a waste of time as Iran will not budge. They may pretend that they will reduce their nuclear capabilities but their real goal is to develop a nuclear bomb which will make them the most powerful and dangerous Arab country in the Middle East. One way or another their nuclear capabilities must be destroyed. This would probably lead to a revolution in the country against the mullahs who run the country in a religious manner with an iron fist. I worked at a clinic in Toronto run by Iranian doctors. I had many Iranian patients both there and here in Montreal. They are a very well educated, soft spoken, good looking and kind people. An elderly patient is never allowed to come to the office alone. They are always accompanied by a child or grandchild to help with the translation if necessary. They always tell me that they came to Canada to escape the bad government there.

Many times I have tried to engage in a political conversation with Israelis. They are usually reluctant to give an opinion as to what the outcome of the conflict will be. They of course want peace but the question is always at what price. Before Oct 7, things were more or less stable. There had been progress with certain Arab countries with the Abraham Accords. There is 1 thing for certain however, they will never trust the Palestinian leadership as it stands today. Hamas must be destroyed or the ceasefire will only last for 3-5 years allowing them to rearm. Hamas was and I still believe is still supported by the majority of the population in Gaza. A few hundred people in Gaza demonstrating against Hamas does not mean that there is a lack of support for Hamas by the general population. I still vividly remember remember the short clip that can be seen on u-tube of the jeep carrying the German-Israeli girl and the mobs of people cheering as if murdering a poor girl is a great military victory. I still remember the fat Palestinian woman coming up to the jeep and spitting on the poor girl. Why did she do that? Does she not have a daughter herself? Would she like if someone did that to her daughter? Is she still spitting now. Look at the destruction that Hamas has caused to happen in Gaza. There is a famous quote ‘if the Arabs lay down their arms, there will be peace. If the Israelis lay down their arms, there will be no Israel. There will be peace only when the Arabs love their children more that they hate the Jews’.

As for me and my plans for the future, I will return to Canada to continue with my life there. I spent 2 months in Israel last year and 1 month this year. I received no monetary compensation for my efforts. I came here because I was, I am and I will always be a Zionist. I firmly believe that the Jews are a nation and as such have a right to a country. That country is Israel, 15 km wide, and without the desert is 10% smaller than Greater Montreal. Can’t the world accept this fact? In Canada we are facing an election next week in which the outcome is not obvious. 2 of the 3 leaders cannot be counted on to support Israel and hence the Jews in Canada. We have seen a rise in antisemitism in Canada that is unprecedented since WW2. And why? Are not the Jews good citizens in Canada? Do they not contribute to Canada to make the country better for everyone? I have always said, if you come to Canada to live, leave your prejudices and other baggage behind in your old country. Try to integrate and become a Canadian citizen with Canadian values. if not, why did you come here in the first place?

What are my plans for the future? I will come back to Israel next year that is a given. In what capacity will I come back? I am not sure. I will have to see how things develop here in Israel. I wrote my blog every day, spending 1.5 hours writing. The first part of my blot written last year has been made in to a book. I will add the next part on returning home and will include this months adventures. I have more experience but my feelings for Israel not changed. The proceeds of the book with be given to MDA.

Love

Brian

Tel Aviv Beach and restaurant 10:00 pm

Piano player at Maxim, She is in her 90s

2025-03 Israel

Israel 26,

April 16, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Last evening when my new friend Boris and his wife left, 2 young girls sat down next to me. As usual, I cannot forego striking up a conversation with fellow patrons sitting at the bar. My opening line this time was ‘are you American?’ As they were both speaking English and were clearly not English or Australian, American was a safe bet. 1 young lady was here for a short visit. The other lady came after Oct. 7, and has been here for 1.5 years. She started a website on Facebook called Sword of Iron, Israel Volunteer Opportunities. It is a very successful website and has become the go to website for foreigners looking for opportunities to volunteer in Israel. I consult the site almost everyday and often read about the volunteering experiences of fellow travellers. I told her that I write a blog on a website and have been documenting my stay of 2 months last year and 1 month this year with the IDF and MDA. She was most interested in my experience and took note of my blog site. She also encouraged me to write my blog on her website which I will do ASAP. It may drive more readers to my site as well as helping me in the sale of my soon to be published book. I have decided that the proceeds of the book will go directly to MDA.

This morning as usual I was up at 5:30 am in order to get to my base on time. The hotel prepares me a breakfast to go as they only start serving at 6:30. It takes me 20 minutes to drive to the base but 45 minutes to return due to the heavy Tel Aviv traffic at rush hour. Rush hour here seems to be any time after 9:00 am to 7:30 pm. I worked with 2 paramedics with whom I have worked before on several shifts as well as the chief paramedic who is very experienced and according to his employees, has seen and done everything. They defer to him for his opinion on many cases. The cases were very simple today so I will not go into details.

The 1st case was a Californian lady who married an Israeli and has been living in Tel Aviv for several years. She is a runner and was suffering from a severe acute groin injury. She could not get out of bed due to the severe pain. We gave her an analgesic and muscle relaxant and her condition improved. I think that she has a coxo-femoral inflammation in her hip. I had a similar condition last month and could hardly walk. The radiologist gave me a cortisone shot in the hip joint under ultrasound guidance and I was better in 15 minutes. She will probably have the same treatment.

The 2nd case was an elderly patient with minimal chest pain that quickly improved when we arrived. He didn’t require transportation to the hospital.

The 3rd case was a young man with a cardiac history. He had midline abdominal pain. We brought him to the hospital for an u/s to r/o an aneurysm which was an unlikely diagnosis. I think that he has a semi acute pancreatitis and will have the appropriate tests.

The 4th patient was an elderly gentleman with mild chest pain. In cases of chest pain we always to the routine tests in the apartment and in the ambulance and then transport the patient to the hospital.

Today we finished on time at 3:30. I said good-bye to my colleagues and we took the usual selfies. I invited them to contact me if they ever come to Canada. I promised to take them skiing if they come in the winter or to go sailing on my boat if they come in the summer.

I cannot leave Tel Aviv without making some comments on the Israeli drivers. I actually find the drivers to be quite civilized as long as you follow the rules. They accelerate fast but rarely go more than 10-15 k/h above the speed limit. They are very much respectful if you have the right of way. On the other hand if you don’t have the right of way, forget about making a turn or changing lanes. It is faster to go around the block. Waze is superb here. Without Waze I could never get from A to B. There are too many one way streets and the streets go in circles rather than straight lines. Signalling is theoretical here if you want to change lanes. The horn is a most important part of the car and is used very frequently. I think that most drivers can hit the horn faster than they can hit the gas peddle. There is a green 2 way lane for bicycles, scooters and small motor bicycles. You must not make the mistake or walking in a green lane. They don’t expect you to be there and will give no quarter. They is virtually no J walking like in Montreal. Pedestrians have a green little man on the traffic light allowing them to cross. This very well respected both by cars and pedestrians alike. Pedestrians will stand for several minutes waiting for their turn to cross even if there are no cars in sight. There are also pedestrian cross walks in the middle of the the street with no lights. Cars jam on their brakes if they see a pedestrian showing an indication of wanting to cross. I rented a small Kia for getting around. You must have a small car here as parking is at a premium here and the parking spaces are very small. Israelis can get into much smaller spaces than I would willing to try. I mostly walk here for short distances or take the bus. A young man rolled down his window and asked me if I wanted to sell my car. He was disappointed when I told him that the car was a rental.

I am sitting outside at a table in a sushi restaurant. The sushi is ok but rather expensive for what you get. It is 20C, very pleasant to eat outside. I am alone at a small table writing my blog. As usual on a Wednesday evening, the restaurants are full and I had to visit several ones before getting a table, as many to the tables are already reserved. People really know how to enjoy themselves here.

Love,

Brian

My new MDA 1st responder motorcycle

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv Hospital

Dizengoff Square, (which is a circle)

My final MDA Team

2025-03 Israel

Israel 23,

April 13, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday was a quiet day. I spent the morning getting caught up on my emails. I like to classify my emails every day or so or the total number becomes unwieldy. I owed a few friends a return email. I then went up on the terrace and studied Hebrew. Progress is slow as usual but I give myself credit for trying. It was too cool for swimming and the beach was virtually empty. The sky was blue with a little breeze, the perfect weather for walking around and visiting Tel Aviv. There are always new neighbourhoods to visit.

There are facebook websites called Sword of Iron and Volunteers for Israel where anyone who is a member can post things. There is a useful amount of information about what is going on in Israel. Often one can find places to volunteer for the day or for a week. A lady made a posting for volunteers who were looking for a seder to attend. All of my relatives here were either going away or were having a seder with their in-laws. I decided to accept the invitation and brought a box of Belgian chocolates. One of the volunteers staying at Maxim’s was also invited so we walked over together, a 10 minute walk.

The seder was fabulous. The lady was originally from Montreal and had been living in Israel for 40 years. She is a professional comedian and travels the country and the world giving performances in English, French and Hebrew, an incredible accomplishment. Her husband was an accountant from London. My friend was from Ottawa and has lived all over the world. There was another lady from Montreal who had a long career with the Canadian government. The last fellow had an NGO that helps new immigrants adapt to Israel, finding them jobs and apartments. All together it was a highly intelectual group. It is rare that I meet people who have travelled and even lived in as many or more countries as me. Except for one person, we were all on the better side of 68, a real group of genuine real live hippies from the 60s. You can imagine the conversation or maybe you can’t.

The seder was brief as planned, even shorter than our seder in Montreal. Boray Pree Hagoffen and the meal began. We started off the evening with an orange wine that resembled a dry port wine followed by main course of brisket, salmon and salad. For desert we had cheese cake. The wine and conversation flowed until after midnight although I had to leave at 10:30 as I had to get up at 5:30 for work. The lady’s husband did all the cooking, a first quality home cooked meal.

This morning after a 3 day break a was back to work with MDA in Ramat Gan. I had a new team that as usual was very competent. The driver was an experienced paramedic who had spent time in Gaza and Lebanon. He carried a pistol which is common for the driver. We go into many different areas of Tel Aviv, rich and poor and we are never sure what we can meet. Although I have never had an incident in 2 years, it is reassuring. Although I am well trained after my 3 days training with Krav Maga, in orderto disarm an assailant with a gun, knife or baton, I would rather not have to put my lack of experience to the test. The chief today on our mission had 8 years experience with MDA and had just finished his medical training as a physician. He is in the process of deciding what specialty that he will do. I tried to convince him to do urology. Rounding off the team was a young girl who is still training to be a paramedic. The chief let her do the initial history and physical exam of the patient. Afterwards he gave her a lot of teaching in the ambulance, reviewing the case.

Our 1st case was an elderly female in the last staged of breast cancer. The physicians had stopped active therapy and she was having palliative care. The paramedics discussed the case at length with the family to get an idea of what they wanted for their mother. In the end we decided to bring the lady to Tel Hashomer for further palliative care.

The 2nd case was an elderly man of Yemenite origin. In 1948 Israel brought 48,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel in an operation called Magic Carpet. These Jews had lived in Yemen for almost 2000 years. However the antisemitism had become untenable after the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948. 800,000 were forced to leave their homes in Arab countries from 1948 to 1950. They had been living in these countries for 1000 years and left in 2 years with no compensation and not a word from the UN. The man didn’t feel well and all of a sudden, without warning vomited ‘coffee grounds’ all over himself and the floor. Coffee grounds often means partially digested blood in the stomach indicative of internal bleeding. The family, consisting of 6 people didn’t bat an eye lash. They just cleaned it up as if nothing had happened. The floors in most Israeli apartments is made of tile for large plaques of marble 75×75 cm making clean up much more simple than had the floor been made of wooded lattes. We transported the patient to the hospital.

The 3rd case was an elderly man with shortness of breath. He had some crackling at the base of his lungs so we diagnosed that he had congestive heart failure. We gave him 40mg of a diuretic, furosamide and transported him to the hospital. On arrival at the hospital, he voided a large amount of urine and felt much better. His shortness of breath had disappeared and his colour was much improved.

The 4th case was an elderly man who apparently had bradycardia, a slow heart beat. When we arrived he had a high blood pressure but no indication of bradycardia. He was in no acute distress and was not short of breath or had chest pain. We spoke to his family MD who will treat him as an outpatient.

I am writing my blog in one of my usual haunts called Mikes Place. They serve comfort food and the place has big screen TVs on the wall. There is football everywhere. It resembles some of the bars that you find in American ski resorts. On certain nights there is live entertainment but not tonight. I just spilled my bear, missing my ipad and cell phone so the waiter kindly offered me a refill.

Love,

Brian

My hippy friends