The Nazareth Hospital was founded in 1861 and continues to be sponsored by The Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society (EMMS International). At the end of the British Mandate in 1956, over one million Palestinians became refugees and Nazareth became home for thousands of them.
In 1986 the hospital was recognised by the Israeli Ministry of Health and now all the Heads of Department have to be Israeli citizens or permanent residents in Israel. There are still expatriate staff and volunteers including the Hospital Director and Head of the Nursing School. The hospital continues to grow and a new Emergency Room is planned in 1999. It is reserved as a centre for casualties in the event of war.
The majority of the patients are Palestinian Arabs but Jews also visit the hospital from the newly built town of Nazareth Illit, a sharp contrast from the dusty, noisy maze of old Nazareth. The staff includes Christians, Muslims and Jews, including a number of immigrant Jewish doctors from East Europe. Such a mixture of cultures working together, in equality is unique in Israel and I felt privileged to be part of this working environment. Many of the Christian staff are Israeli citizens. There are worship services in the hospital chapel and weekly Bible studies.
I learnt much about this culture from observing the doctors and patients. Both Israelis and Arabs have an aggressive manner but patients seem very passive and untroubled by this. I was surprised at the medicalisation of childbirth - most mothers receive episiotomies, do not handle their babies after delivery, and seldom have their husbands present during labour and never at delivery. Afterwards the women were overjoyed to show me their infant and insisted I went away with pockets full of sticky sweet cakes, Arabic chocolate or pieces of fruit.
On the buses seats were filled with sleepy members of the Israeli Defence Force. The majority were in their late teens and the female contingent looked extremely glamorous in their figure-hugging khakis with an Uzi submachine gun slung over a shoulder.
We cycled up the Mount of Beatitudes and halfway around Lake Galilee, relishing in a freshwater swim in the lake to refresh us in the overbearing heat. We stayed in Jerusalem's Old City and soaked up the incredible atmosphere of this place, which has an almost tangible sense of destiny, visited Jericho, and swam in the Dead Sea - an extremely painful experience.
As we sought out in Bethlehem the site of the manger, it was no place of 'deep and dreamless sleep' because soldiers were guarding barriers on the road after the shooting of a young man.
Exploring the souk was a favourite activity in the early evening when the aromas of nuts, spices and coffee filled the cooling twilight air. One afternoon amongst the narrow cobbled street, and down stone steps I found the ancient synagogue. It is a simple building. Sitting inside I remembered a passage from Luke 4 where Jesus spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth about his priorities: not simply to stand and preach but to give the needy what they needed.
Rebekah Price was a final year medical student at Cardiff when she did her elective in summer 1998 with the help of an MMA grant
In 1986 the hospital was recognised by the Israeli Ministry of Health and now all the Heads of Department have to be Israeli citizens or permanent residents in Israel. There are still expatriate staff and volunteers including the Hospital Director and Head of the Nursing School. The hospital continues to grow and a new Emergency Room is planned in 1999. It is reserved as a centre for casualties in the event of war.
The majority of the patients are Palestinian Arabs but Jews also visit the hospital from the newly built town of Nazareth Illit, a sharp contrast from the dusty, noisy maze of old Nazareth. The staff includes Christians, Muslims and Jews, including a number of immigrant Jewish doctors from East Europe. Such a mixture of cultures working together, in equality is unique in Israel and I felt privileged to be part of this working environment. Many of the Christian staff are Israeli citizens. There are worship services in the hospital chapel and weekly Bible studies.
I learnt much about this culture from observing the doctors and patients. Both Israelis and Arabs have an aggressive manner but patients seem very passive and untroubled by this. I was surprised at the medicalisation of childbirth - most mothers receive episiotomies, do not handle their babies after delivery, and seldom have their husbands present during labour and never at delivery. Afterwards the women were overjoyed to show me their infant and insisted I went away with pockets full of sticky sweet cakes, Arabic chocolate or pieces of fruit.
On the buses seats were filled with sleepy members of the Israeli Defence Force. The majority were in their late teens and the female contingent looked extremely glamorous in their figure-hugging khakis with an Uzi submachine gun slung over a shoulder.
We cycled up the Mount of Beatitudes and halfway around Lake Galilee, relishing in a freshwater swim in the lake to refresh us in the overbearing heat. We stayed in Jerusalem's Old City and soaked up the incredible atmosphere of this place, which has an almost tangible sense of destiny, visited Jericho, and swam in the Dead Sea - an extremely painful experience.
As we sought out in Bethlehem the site of the manger, it was no place of 'deep and dreamless sleep' because soldiers were guarding barriers on the road after the shooting of a young man.
Exploring the souk was a favourite activity in the early evening when the aromas of nuts, spices and coffee filled the cooling twilight air. One afternoon amongst the narrow cobbled street, and down stone steps I found the ancient synagogue. It is a simple building. Sitting inside I remembered a passage from Luke 4 where Jesus spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth about his priorities: not simply to stand and preach but to give the needy what they needed.
Rebekah Price was a final year medical student at Cardiff when she did her elective in summer 1998 with the help of an MMA grant
