Israeli Nurse Breastfeeding a Palestinian Baby Proves that Motherhood Is a Universal Bond

When 9-month-old Yamen arrived at a hospital in Jerusalem, the infant was lucky to be alive. He had survived a collision with a bus in the West Bank that killed his father and critically injured his mom.

Luckily for this baby, he was properly restrained in a car seat during the accident and only suffered from minor injuries during the crash. However at the hospital, he couldn't be consoled and was hysterical out of hunger. Yamen had been exclusively breastfed and cried for seven hours as he refused to take any bottle and doctors focused on caring for his mom's severe head injury.

When Ola Ostrowski-Zak, a nurse at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, showed up for her night shift in the emergency room, Yamen's desperate aunts explained the situation and asked if it was possible to find someone who would be willing to nurse the child. Ola happened to have a baby boy of her own and without hesitation, this Israeli woman offered to breastfeed the Palestinian baby.

"That was my first instinct," Ola told Today. "I thought to myself, 'I must help this baby.'"

Ola's kindness shocked Yamen's aunts who told her they never thought a Jewish woman would do this for a Palestinian child. "I was emotional about this sad assumption," Ola said. "I know any Jewish mother would have done the same."

As soon as Ola began nursing, the baby began to calm down and she felt like she was nursing her own 18-month-old boy, Ayam. Before her shift ended, Ola wanted to ensure that Yamen continued to receive the care he needed and posted to an Isareli Facebook page in search of volunteers who were willing to wet nurse him.

According to Today, she received thousands of likes and responses in just two hours from people who were willing to drive more than 70 miles to ensure that the baby could eat. "This story represents the real Israel," Ola said. "Any mother in Israel would have helped him. The human connection is very strong."