The Jordanian Physician Who Helped the Magen David Adom Get a Seat at the Table

Founded in Tel Aviv in 1930, Magen David Adom (Red Star of David) was not admitted into the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement until 2006, due to its insistence on using a Jewish symbol. Felix Pope tells the story of the man who changed that:

When the Jordanian emergency relief worker Mohammed Al-Hadid first suggested that he could welcome Israel and Palestine to the Red Cross at the same time he was met with skepticism. “People thought: no way, it’s going to divide the movement,” he says now, reflecting on the 2006 conference at which he attempted the feat.

Al-Hadid, now seventy-two, was then at the apex of a successful career in humanitarian work and serving as the chairman of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The crunch meeting came a year after he had convinced Magen David Adom—Israel’s national medical emergency, disaster, ambulance, and blood service—and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to meet for the first time.

But it was at the Red Cross’s 2006 [international] conference that Al-Hadid faced his greatest challenge: “Lots of people were against Israel becoming a member of the Red Cross,” he says, recalling an early attempt to remove him as chair of the organization’s standing committee. . . .

Today, Israeli medics are able to work alongside their Arab counterparts in large part thanks to Al-Hadid’s work. . . . MDA is responsible for all of Israel’s first-aid training, and provides and maintains its fleet of 1,716 ambulances, medi-cycles, lifeboats, and air ambulances. It co-operates with the Palestinian Red Crescent, shares expertise internationally on mass-casualty events, and collects and supplies 300,000 units of blood annually. Last year, it opened the world’s most secure national blood bank.

Read more at Jewish Chronicle

More about: Anti-Semitism, Israel-Arab relations, Medicine

The Next Diplomatic Steps for Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab States

July 11 2025

Considering the current state of Israel-Arab relations, Ghaith al-Omari writes

First and foremost, no ceasefire will be possible without the release of Israeli hostages and commitments to disarm Hamas and remove it from power. The final say on these matters rests with Hamas commanders on the ground in Gaza, who have been largely impervious to foreign pressure so far. At minimum, however, the United States should insist that Qatari and Egyptian mediators push Hamas’s external leadership to accept these conditions publicly, which could increase pressure on the group’s Gaza leadership.

Washington should also demand a clear, public position from key Arab states regarding disarmament. The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas endorsed this position in a June letter to Saudi Arabia and France, giving Arab states Palestinian cover for endorsing it themselves.

Some Arab states have already indicated a willingness to play a significant role, but they will have little incentive to commit resources and personnel to Gaza unless Israel (1) provides guarantees that it will not occupy the Strip indefinitely, and (2) removes its veto on a PA role in Gaza’s future, even if only symbolic at first. Arab officials are also seeking assurances that any role they play in Gaza will be in the context of a wider effort to reach a two-state solution.

On the other hand, Washington must remain mindful that current conditions between Israel and the Palestinians are not remotely conducive to . . . implementing a two-state solution.

Read more at Washington Institute for Near East Policy

More about: Gaza War 2023, Israel diplomacy, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict