JERUSALEM, Oct. 10, 2008

Israel Hosts Cancer-Stricken Iranian Boy

Israeli Hospital Hopes Gesture, Treatment Will Improve Understanding

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     (AP)

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(AP)  The head of an Israeli hospital where an Iranian boy is being treated for a brain tumor said Friday he hoped the gesture will help improve understanding between the bitterly divided countries.

The 12-year-old boy - who was identified only as Roy, to protect his privacy - was wheeled on a stretcher into the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, after treatments in Iran and Turkey failed.

Israel granted the child a special permit to enter the country and he arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday. The rare arrangement was mediated by an Israeli businessman of Iranian origin. The boy was accompanied to the hospital by his father and veiled mother, who were also granted special entrance permits into Israel.

Iran and Israel are bitter enemies and have no formal relations. Iran's president has denied the Holocaust and repeatedly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Sheba CEO Zeev Rotstein said it wasn't the first time Israeli doctors have treated children from adversarial states.

"We hope that with the love and affection we give these kids we are paving the way for at least some understanding between people," he said. "We can't change the politics. We are not politicians. We do this because we feel it is our job."

Israel is home to world-class hospitals and state-of-the-art medical technology.

Dr. Amos Toren, head of Sheba's Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Department, said his initial diagnosis was that the boy's year-old growth was "the most aggressive tumor that exists among brain tumors."

"He is conscious and he can smile but it is hard," he said. "We will give him the most modern treatment possible and maybe we will be able to help him."

© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Add a Comment See all 14 Comments
by ybotheratall October 10, 2008 11:29 PM PDT
One minute they are blowing each other up and you see footage of children with their limbs blown off. Now they are pulling out all stops to save a child. They have THE worst ethics and morals of anyone I''ve ever seen on earth and that says a lot. I live in America.
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by roadracer9x October 11, 2008 12:11 AM PDT
YBotherAtAll-
How can you be so heartless? When someone does a selfless act you commend them no matter what ever happened before or who they are. You obviously believe that any good deed is meaningless when done by someone you don''t like. I feel sorry for you.
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by juwboy October 11, 2008 5:15 AM PDT
YBotherAtAll has the worst ethics and morals of anyone I`ve ever seen on earth and that says a lot.
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by babooph October 11, 2008 8:25 AM PDT
Jews & Islamics-both originating from the same semetic group,used to get along very well-I hope those days return.
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by ybotheratall October 11, 2008 8:27 AM PDT
You idiots have my post all wrong. Of course, I am not surprised considering the intelligence level of people who post here. Let me try to explain it more on a level you can comprehend.

What I was saying (obviously) was that it''s a very sad and strange irony that the people who are working so hard to save this boy''s life are the same people who work so hard to destroy life. Their deeds are a DIRECT contradiction of their usual actions. My comment about America is another analogy of all the crime and murder that surrounds the healing of a hospital. Naturally, all this went over your heads (take for example earth56''s saying ''your'' instead of you''re) and your misunderstanding and horrid spelling are testaments to your ignorance. It was a post of compassion and it went over your heads you morons.
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by krotec54 October 11, 2008 9:41 AM PDT
It is Islam that is destroying life. Naturally, all this went over your head and your misunderstanding of who wants to destroy life (or a country) is testaments to your ignorance.
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by differnet October 11, 2008 10:49 AM PDT
In the name of God, because Islam, Judaism and Christianity, all worship the God of Abraham, can''t for once people just pray for this boy and his family. I don''t care who is helping them. Do you think a mother would care about the religious faith of a doctor if that doctor could help their child? Why must every article be turned into some political screed.
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by nothappyatall October 11, 2008 1:19 PM PDT
, said his initial diagnosis was that the boy''s year-old growth was "the most aggressive tumor that exists among brain tumors."

Basically make him comfortable- the end is near, no medicines are going to stop THAT now.
To have a brain tumor start at age 11 shows his DNA, immune system or whatever is seriously flawed- it''s not normal.

"cant for once people just pray for this boy and his family."

No, prayers don''t work, and being he is only 12 and has the most aggressive form of brain tumor- he is basically TOAST.
Besides, thousands die every day, this is just one, and one with virtually zero hope.

"Why must every article be turned into some political screed."

Because they are USING him as a political tool, and what will happen is when he dies Israel will get the BLAME with those pointing fingers saying the doctors KILLED him.

Posted by differnet
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by antizion October 11, 2008 2:39 PM PDT
The plan on giving him and everyone else in Iran "radiation treatment" when he returns home using Israels illegal nuclear weapons.

We found the illegal WMD in the middle east and it is in the hands of the people that sold us the Iraq war.
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by puldr October 11, 2008 4:26 PM PDT
May God bless the Israeli people and others who are attempting to help this Iranian boy, and may the cause of peace be furthered as a result of this kind act!
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by asamiller October 11, 2008 5:21 PM PDT
If everybody started thinking like these doctors, we''d have an end to all the killing. No nation is a monolith, there are plenty of Israelis, Iranians and Arabs who understand this. Life is too short and too sacred to keep up the killing.
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by waqahi October 12, 2008 12:22 AM PDT
When Ronald Reagan died the commentaries were so absurd that I was not sure if they were talking about the same person, who in my opinion had pioneered the planting of the seeds of corruption that the world is harvesting today. Treating a child is nice and many hospitals are doing it. Here in the US so many doctors volunteer their know-how and time to treat sick children from all over the world. The so called Israel I know had turned the entire "Dhahiya Janobiya" into rubble in the thirty three days war of 2006, South Beirut, the size of Portland, OR and home for more than four hundred thousand Lebanese was turned into a pile of rubble using US made war machine, in the 21st century and in front of the entire world. The criminal regime of foundings had capped its dirty war of 2006 by dropping more than two million cluster bombs covering the entire geography of South Lebanon.
By the Glorious Morning Light,
By the night when it is stillest,
And By the guiding stars
....The Zionist Entity will be defeated. Treat a child or a thousand children.
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by ondastreet October 12, 2008 9:53 PM PDT
Too many of you are nuts....just plain nuts. Why can''t more people just rally behind simple decency?
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by juwboy October 13, 2008 5:20 AM PDT
Let`s see now ...

The Israeli doctors would have been condemned if they`d refused to treat this child because he`s Iranian and they`re being condemned because they ARE treating this Iranian child.

Aunty Zion, come and give for your handsome nephew a nice, big KNISH!!!
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