Israeli–Arab organ donations

Yoni Jesner and Ahmed Khatib were a Jewish teen and a Palestinian boy, whose organs were donated to the people from the opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after their violent deaths.

Yoni Jesner

Yoni Jesner was a 19-year old Scottish Jew, who was murdered by a suicide bomber on September 19, 2002 in Tel Aviv. Yoni became one of 220 victims of the bombing attacks in 2002. Hamas took responsibility for the attack.

Yoni was born in Glasgow. He was named after Yoni Netanyahu,who was killed while leading successful operation Entebbe to release hostages from Air France flight, hijacked by Palestinian terrorists.

Yoni Jesner dreamed to become a doctor, and was planning to attend a medical school in London. He was also interested in Jewish heritage. He came to Israel to study in Jewish seminary. He loved the country, and had planned to return back to Israel as a doctor after finishing his education in London.

In the suicide attack on the Tel-Aviv's bus Yoni was riding, he sustained a critical head injury. After Yoni’s parents consented to his life support machine to be switched off,they allowed to donate one of Yoni’s kidneys to an unknown recipient. It was donated to Yasmin Abu Ramila, a Palestinian girl from East Jerusalem. At the time of the surgery Yasmin was 7 years old. She was born with kidney failure. Most of her life her parents should have taken her to West Jerusalem for treatment by Israeli doctors. She was waiting to receive a transplant for two years.

Yoni's brother Ari spoke to the media about family decision. He said:

I think the most important principle here is that life was given to another human being.

Scott Simon commented on the symbolism of Yoni wish to become a doctor that never came truth, and in spite of everything still saving a life even in his death:

Yoni Jesner will not live to become a doctor, but just as surely, he will be remembered as a healer. Yasmin Rumeileh's father, Abu, who runs a tea and coffee shop in East Jerusalem, said this week, "We are one family. They saved my daughter. Part of their son is living in my daughter. We are all one people."

After the surgery a little Yasmin was doing well, and the doctors believed she had a very good chances to live a normal life.

Ahmed Khatib

Ahmed Khatib was born in Jenin. In November of 2005 Ahmed was killed by a soldier from Israeli Defense Forces, who mistook a toy gun Ahmed's was holding with a real one. The other Palestinian kids, who played together with Ahmed confirmed that he had a toy gun that looked "like an Uzi" Eleven years old Ahmad Tawfiq said that "the boys stood among five Palestinian fighters exchanging gunfire with Israeli soldiers in Jeeps. " The Israel military officials said their soldiers came under fire in several locations from Palestinian gunmen, and returned the fire. They apologized for killing an innocent boy.

Ahmed was taken to an Israeli hospital in Haifa, but the doctors were unable to save his life. After his death his parents donated 6 of their son's organs to the 4 Jewish and 2 Arab citizens of Israel. Ahmed's heart was transplanted into a 12-year-old Arab girl. A Jewish teenager got his lungs. Ahmed's liver was divided between a seven-month-old Jewish girl, who sadly did not survive the surgery, and a 58-year-old Jewish woman. The kidneys were divided between a three-year-old Jewish girl and a five-year-old Bedouin Arab boy Mohamed Kabua.

Ehud Olmert called Ahmed's father Ismail. Olmert apologized to him and invited him to visit his office in Jerusalem. Ismail said: "I will go if it will promote peace. I will tell him one thing: children have nothing to do with this conflict."

Not everybody in Jenin approved the organ donation. Some neighbors asked Ahmed's parents "how they could give their child's body parts to the people who killed him", but Ahmed's mother Abla said she was visited by a few other mothers, who lost their kids to the conflict, and who expressed their support."

Zakaria Zubeidi,who at that time was a leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, helped to carry Ahmed's coffin. He acknowledged

...that giving life might be a better way of winning Israeli understanding for the Palestinians' plight than blowing up children on buses.

Ahmed's father Ismail used to work as a motor mechanic in Israel together with Israeli Jews for many years. His knowledge of ordinary people, his co-workers from Israel helped Ismail to make his decision about organ's donation. His son Ahmed was born between the first intifada and the second intifada. Practically the only Israelis Ahmed saw were soldiers. He was growing up confronted by routine violence. At the day of his death Ahmed went to visit Jenin's "martyrs' graveyard" , the cemetery for the Palestinian militants, who died fighting Israel. As most Palestinian kids Ahmed considered those men and women to be heroes. That's why Ismail said he was not sure, if Ahmed would have approved his father decision to donate his organs to Israelis.

The story about Ahmed Khatib's death and his parents brave and kind decision to donate their son's organs became the subject for PBC documentary "Heart of Jenin".