On Wednesday, The Times of Israel reported on a dilemma facing Israeli emergency room doctors.

On October 22, after he ran into a crowd of pedestrians at a light rail stop in Jerusalem, killing two people (including a 3-month-old baby) and injuring several more, Abdelrahman al-Shaludi was shot by police as he attempted to flee. He was brought to Shaarei Tzedek hospital for treatment at about the same times as one of his victim.

As the doctors saw it, it wasn’t really a choice. Shaludi’s condition was more critical, so he needed more urgent medical attention, regardless of what he had done.

Whatever their opinions about what happens outside the hospital, once they stand within its walls, Israeli physicians, sworn by oath to do no harm and save lives, say they manage to put aside their emotions and treat each and every patient equally.

The head of trauma at the hospital, Dr. Ofer Merin, told the Times, “Five department heads were called in to try to help save this guy who purposely ran people over. We gave him 30 units of blood. We did everything we would have done had it been the prime minister or the president, God forbid.”

Though the team of doctors performed two surgeries on Sahludi, he died five hours after he was brought in. Though Merin admits that though it is difficult, “he insists that medical professionals are able to flip the necessary switch, so to speak, in order to turn off those feelings.”

[Photo: יעקב / Flickr ]