Amid Conflict, Two Doctors, One Palestinian and One Jewish, Find the Humanity in Medicine
Seeing the heart-wrenching stories on the news and social media upset him and prompted his decision to leave behind his wife (a trauma surgeon) and their seven-year-old daughter to help strangers.
“It was kind of like going to a different planet,” says Hasan, whose story has been featured in numerous publications. He was interviewed by ABC News after returning from what would be the first of three trips to the region.
Cohen, who had never met Hasan, heard him speak about some of his experiences and reached out.
“When I heard him talk of his heartache and his desire to help, I thought I have the exact same heartache and desire to help, even though we’re quite different,” Cohen said. “So, I reached out, we had coffee and a good conversation.”
Like Hasan, Cohen looked for ways to help. He found an emergency medical registry and traveled to Israel with the American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel (APF).
“We saw the horrors of the devastated kibbutzim, burned homes, RPGs shot through bedroom walls,” he said.
But what stood out to both men was that beyond the violence, and behind the walls of the hospital, were people helping people. Stripped of their labels and working together to save lives, medical professionals such as Hasan and Cohen “found the humanity in medicine,” says Cohen.
Cohen told the story of the mother of two teenagers, who previously were wounded in a Hamas rocket attack that hit their grandmother’s house when they were 5 and 7 years old. As the director of social services, she had to leave them alone crying in a bomb shelter to take care of others.
Provost’s Forum to be simulcast in Page
Registration for the 2024 Provost’s Forum is now closed. A live simulcast of the program will be shown in Page Auditorium for members of the Duke community, who are invited to attend any time between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 16.
No registration is required. Please see the agendafor session details.
“It’s an unbelievable story of resilience and humanity,” he added.
Hasan, who traveled to Israel to see where the attacks happened, says it allowed him to comprehend the pain on both sides.
“The hope is to forge forward together, American, Palestinian, Israeli, and work for the future, because without it, the alternative is horrible,”
Dr. David Hasan
“I have been able to relate comfortably to both sides, work with both sides comfortably and establish credibility on both sides,” says Hasan.
In addition to providing medical care, Hasan has organized efforts to bring in medical equipment and supplies, along with food, water, diapers and other humanitarian aid.
“The hope is to forge forward together, American, Palestinian, Israeli, and work for the future, because without it, the alternative is horrible,” Hasan said.
Cohen is continuing his work with APF and also working on other initiatives.
The event begins at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 16 at Karsh Alumni & Visitors Center.
Bruce Jentleson, William Preston Few Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and professor of political science, will provide opening remarks. Provost Alec Gallimore will provide the welcoming address. The program featuring Hasan and Cohen will begin at 9:15 a.m. and will be moderated by Abbas Benmamoun, vice provost for faculty advancement and professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Additional events this fall in the Provost’s Initiative on the Middle East include a Sept. 18 talk at the Nicholas School of the Environment by Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, executive director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and former Israeli acting chief scientist; and an Oct. 30 presentation by Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage, a national civic engagement organization for Muslim Americans, organized by Polis: Center for Politics at the Sanford School of Public Policy.