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AJC Helps Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon Acquire Emergency Medical Equipment

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NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, has provided Barzilai Medical Center in Israel with a grant to support its efforts to help the victims of rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza.

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"We are strengthened in spirit and in our ability to respond in the current crisis by AJC's generous act of friendship and support," said Dr. Chezy Levy, CEO and Medical Director of the Barzilai Medical Center.

Barzilai, located in Ashkelon, is the main hospital in the southern region, and currently on the frontline in the battle against Hamas. The Palestinian terror organization ruling Gaza has sent more than 1,000 rockets during the last week alone into southern and central Israel. One made a direct hit on a school in Ashkelon, which was empty at the time because schools in the south remain closed due to the daily attacks.

The $360,000 grant from AJC's Israel Emergency Fund will enable Barzilai to purchase much-needed medical equipment, including a mobile X-ray apparatus and a Plasma Sterrad Sterilizer.

"Israelis, especially first-responders like the Barzilai Medical Center team, have demonstrated exceptional resilience, compassion and love of life – even as they confront an enemy, Hamas in Gaza, that glorifies death," said AJC Executive Director David Harris . "We hope our contribution will assist the remarkable effort to save and protect lives."

An AJC delegation visited Barzilai Medical Center in 2009, during Operation Cast Lead, when Israel entered Gaza to quell Hamas rockets. "Barzilai, as we saw on that trip, also helps injured Palestinians from Gaza with superb care," said Harris, who led the delegation. "This speaks volumes about a dimension of Israel's humanity that, regrettably, gets too little attention in the global media." Following that visit, AJC provided a grant to purchase emergency medical equipment for the hospital's trauma center.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee