Bomb victim's kidney saves Arab

by Sam Kiley
Suicide bomber Ibrahim Oude walked into the Palm Hotel dining room, looked around, smiled and detonated a bomb so powerful it tore cars apart on the street outside, killing 25 people and injuring over 100 more.

The last thing on his mind as he went on his mission nine days ago in the resort of Netanya was to bring Palestinians and Jews together.

But he didn't figure on the Vider family. Four generations of the clan, 13 people in all, had gathered for the pre-Passover feast. Sivan, 20, and her fiancé Avi Beckerman, 26, were killed on the spot.

Sivan's cousin and sister were badly wounded and father, Zeev, 49, lingered in intensive care for five days until he died on Tuesday.

Non-religious but a deeply moral man, Zeev wanted to be an organ donor and so, when doctors said they needed a kidney to save a Palestinian woman's life, the family did not hesitate.

Zeev's son Nimrod, 25, who was in Poland at the time of the bombing, said: "There is a choice on who to give the donation to; we could have said no, only transplant a Jew. But to us, it was not important whether the organs went to Arabs or Jews.

"Our father always taught us that 'life is life' and that there is no difference between us. He taught us to be on the side of the sublime and to never judge anyone by their religion or their race." As the decision was made, 50 miles away in Shuafat, on the outskirts of East Jerusalem, Palestinian Aisha abu Khadir, 54, was arriving for her regular session of kidney dialysis.

For four years, she had refused to allow members of her family to donate one of their kidneys, fearing they would risk their own health.

Her son, Said, 23, said: "We got a call out of the blue from the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah, for my mother to go in straight away - so we rushed there and they gave her a new kidney on Tuesday night.

"They didn't tell me anything about this Israeli guy. But after the success of the operation, the doctor took me aside and said, 'I want to tell you something very important - this kidney comes from one of the victims of the Natanya bombing.'

"I was so shocked. I was really very sad because civilians are paying the price of the fighting. But I was grateful that my mother would not have to suffer any more."

Nimrod Vider added: "I'm very proud of my father and of what he stood for. If his donation means that someone will pause to think for one second before the next act of terror, we will have done our part."