US Deputy Assistant Secretary Secretary of State Michael Ratney said Monday he was “astounded” by Israel’s humanitarian treatment of Syrians wounded in that country’s six-year-old civil war and said the medical treatment the refugees have received at Ziv Medical Center in Safed has been an illustration of “Israeli compassion and competence.”

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Speaking while leading a delegation of US officials on a tour of Israel’s northern borders with Lebanon and Syria before ending the day in Safed, Ratney said he would “leave Ziv hospital (Medical Center—ed) with a profound appreciation for the heroic work you are doing treating Syrians wounded in their civil war.”

Ratney (L) and Prof. Lernet (Photo: Ziv Medical Center)

Photo: Avihu Shapira

Aside from Ratney, a fluent Arabic speaker who served as the United States Consul General in Jerusalem from 2012 to 2015 and who is now the the US Special Envoy for Syria; Dr. Scott B. Lasensky, a senior fellow at The Institute for National Security Studies and a senior advisor on Israel, Syria and Middle East affairs in the Obama administration, as well as senior IDF officers.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Like Ratney, Lasensky praised the hospital for showing dedication and compassion to refugees and fighters alike, both in Israel and abroad.





Photo: Ziv Medical Center

Over the past four and a half years, Israeli medical teams have treated more than 1,100 Syrian civilians who were wounded in the fighting. Spokespeople for Ziv Medical Center said the average stay for a Syrian patient is far longer than an Israeli one.The statement also said that the hospital has built a holistic framework to treat Syrian patients, including Arabic-speaking social workers, teachers and rehabilitation professionals and more.





Photo: Avihu Shapira