Palestinian Baby Nursed by Jewish Nurse after Mother Seriously Injured

Ula Ostrowski-Zack nursed a nine-month-old Palestinian baby from Hebron for an entire shift in the pediatric emergency room at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, after the baby’s mother was seriously injured in a crash that killed his father.

"His aunts were surprised that a Jew agreed to breastfeed him, but I told them that every mother would do it," she said.

Last Friday the family from Hebron were involved in a head on collision with an armored bus on Route 60. The baby sustained light injuries and was taken to the emergency room in Jerusalem. However he refused to eat from a bottle and there was no one to feed him. For seven hours he didn't eat a thing and cried incessantly, until Ostrowski-Zack arrived.

"They asked me if I could help them find someone who would breastfeed the baby," said Ostrowski-Zack. "As a nursing mother, I didn't hesitate and suggested that I do it myself."

So, between caring for the other children on the ward, the nurse fed the baby. "I fed him five times," she said. "His aunts embraced me and thanked me. They were really surprised and told me that no Jewish women would agree to nurse a Palestinian baby they did not know."

The baby's mother is still in serious condition. The baby is expected to be discharged from the hospital and will be staying at his grandparents' home in Hebron, where his aunt will continue to breastfeed him.