Clinic in Crisis Gets Unexpected Hero

With the strict laws limiting human rights for asylum-seeking refugees, this story illustrates how volunteers can use their professional skills to provide essential services for these refugees.

Artie Jacobowitz made aliyah with his wife, Karen, in January this year. They have two sons and four grandchildren living in the US.

Artie lost no time as a retired biomedical equipment engineer in searching for volunteer work. He contacted the Yahel Social Change Fellowship, which matches volunteers and their skills with the needs of the local communities.

And indeed, there was a great need for Artie’s professional skills at Ruach Hadashah, a medical clinic in Haifa’s Hadar neighborhood, serving the local community of refugees. Mostly from Eritrea, Sudan, and Ukraine, they are living in limbo without any government assistance or social benefits. Without an Israeli ID, they cannot register with a health fund or apply for credit cards or bus pass, so these families live without any medical or social care.

A project run by the Technion Faculty of Medicine as a means of teaching medical students a more holistic approach to treating patients is being run at the Ruach Hadashah clinic in Haifa’s Hadar neighborhood to serve the local community of refugees.