Muhmad, Hisham and Rashel work together in the IDF Medical Corps. Photo by: Carmel Barna, Medical Corps

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“Whoever saves a single life, is considered to have saved an entire world.” With this proverb, simply and with a deeply held belief, Moti explains his decision to become a paramedic.  Is it possible that his comrades in the paramedic’s course, Muhmad, Hisham and Rashel hadn’t encountered the saying that appears in the Mishna and based on this saying is medicine and the Halahic adjudicator – Maimonides; however, there is no doubt that they agree with it completely.

It seems that the Medical Corps’ Officer’s Course, which has come to a close at the military medical school Training Base 10, has become an IDF melting pot.  The current course graduates graduated with a certificate from the biggest Officers’ Course of the Medical Corps that was held at Training Base 10 in past years with 26 cadets.  Four of this course’s graduates were from four different religious backgrounds: Moti Shuv, a religious Jew from Ashkelon; Muhmad Chogierat, a Bedouin Muslim from the village of Bir el Maksur; Hisham Abu-Salach, a Druze living in the village of Beit Jann; and Rashel Hatzbani, a Christian from Haifa.  The first three even share the same room.  In the atmosphere of a reality T.V. show, these cadets are comparable to the primetime T.V. show Big Brother.  How, despite this, did the four manage together in such a demanding course?  “Without any problem,” they all say, “The camaraderie between us and our love for the medical field were the determining factors.”

It is impossible to deny the cultural baggage that each of these four cadets carry with them and the places where they have grown up.  “My mother was very proud of me all throughout the Officers’ Course.  She congratulates me all the time on becoming the second officer in the family,” explained Rashel Hatzbani.  Nonetheless, Rashel still needs to invest a lot of time and will if she wants to catch up to the ranks held by her family’s preceding officer.  Her grandfather was Major Saad Hadad, the founder of the South Lebanon Army (SLA).

Becoming an Officer at any cost

“In the beginning, I wanted to be a combat soldier until I discovered the officers’ track for paramedics in the Medical Corps.  I fell in love with the idea of becoming a paramedic and an officer, but regretfully I wasn’t able to enter that track because I had a medical profile of 97,” said Hisham, then explaining how he started his service in the Herev Battalion.  “They wanted me to do the Squad Commanders’ Course, but I fought to got to the Paramedics’ Course so I could help my friends in my battalion and the combatants overall.  My brother, who served as a munitions officer in the Armored Corps, started the officers’ track when I was still in high school and the entire time I heard stories from him about Training Base 10.  I felt obligated to face those challenges in order to experience that experience on my own, and with great satisfaction I can say that I did.”

With everything related to officers’ training, these four cadets agree with Hisham’s doctrine, which is: “If you are going to give, why not all the way?”  “To be a soldier is an obligation and to be an officer is a privilege,” said Moti, who before his draft volunteered with Magen David Adom and began his service at Training Base 10.  And despite this, one can see that the one who attributes the greatest meaning to becoming an officer is Muhmad.  Muhmad Chogierat went to Officers’ Course straight from the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion, where he served as a company paramedic.  When he acquires an officer’s rank, after six months of intensive training, Muhmad Chogierat will soon be the first Bedouin Medical Corps officer.  “I have no words to describe how wonderful I feel.”

These men are an exemplary trio that illustrates the IDF’s commitment to excellence, despite all potential obstacles.  They have transformed their differences into strengths and are serving the IDF Medical Corps, even in ways that don’t pertain to medicine.