Dr Rosen Allin-Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, has recounted her experience trying to help palestinians get permits for hospital treatment within Israel (hat tip: Simon).
1:
I travelled to Israel and Palestine earlier this year, working as a doctor, with the aim of finding out what issues Palestinians (especially from Gaza) currently face with accessing hospital treatment.— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
2:
I saw some truly horrific cases inc. of Palestinian babies being born prematurely, but because of permit issues mothers were sent back to Gaza shortly after birth, with some babies dying alone in hospital: https://t.co/U7IYyXJLtq— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
3:
I spoke at length with many news outlets, the Guardian and the Today Prog did good pieces on this. Kids undergoing chemotheory can’t travel with parents because they’re deemed a security risk. But the issue has many sides to the story and is not simple. https://t.co/ffE5RuHHLH— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
4:
This caused a stir. I was called a liar, some people tried to discredit what I was saying. I held firm, I have proof of these horrific cases – it’s a fact that many Palestinians are not treated with dignity.— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
5:
So, in my quest to improve the permit system, I had a very lively radio discussion with the Deputy Israeli Ambassador – something which continued in the green room at the BBC. Weeks later, she invited me to meet with her to discuss it further.— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
6:
So last week, I went to the Israeli Embassy to discuss it, in the hope to get some traction, to improve the permit system – which will benefit thousands of Palestinians waiting for hospital treatment.— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
7:
Instead of supporting my work, those purporting to support the Palestinian cause have spouted horrible anti-Semitic abuse. See some examples here – it’s disgusting, these views are abhorrent – but also misguided and ill-informed. pic.twitter.com/EhxW6z69po— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
8:
This behaviour does nothing to help the Palestinian cause. I have been there, called out what I’ve seen and spoken in the press. Am I now not meant to work to improve this dreadful situation?— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
9:
I’ve worked with Palestinians across the Middle East for 10 years – but these racists think they can sit behind a keyboard here in the U.K and troll someone genuinely trying to help. It’s revolting – it’s wrong.— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) July 30, 2019
I commend Dr Allin-Khan for publicly recognizing 1. the issue is complex and involves Israeli security concerns 2. the efforts of the Israeli embassy to hear her out and discuss ways to improve the permit system 3. the reality that so many so-called “pro palestinians” – such as the Electronic Intifada’s Asa Winstanley – are really antisemites.
