Father Barred From Accompanying Daughter to Crucial US Hearing Surgery
Translated & summarized from JDN by baba
A family has appealed to top Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister and Defense Minister, to allow a father to accompany his four-year-old daughter to the U.S. for critical hearing restoration surgery. A military travel ban prevents the father from leaving Israel, despite the surgery being scheduled for December 1 and requiring prior preparation. Doctors emphasize the urgency due to the child's developmental needs, and the mother cannot manage the care alone with an infant also at home. The family has raised over $105,000 for the procedure.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- A four-year-old girl needs urgent hearing surgery in the U.S. on December 1.
- A military travel ban prevents her father from accompanying her to California.
- Israeli doctors stress the critical need for the surgery at this age.
- The family has raised over $105,000 for the complex procedure.
- The mother cannot manage the child's care and an infant alone.
- The family has appealed to the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Chief of Staff.
A family whose four-year-old daughter requires complex hearing restoration surgery in the United States has appealed to the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Chief of Staff to intervene and allow the father to accompany her. According to the appeal, a travel ban imposed by military authorities prevents the 29-year-old father from leaving Israel. The first surgery is scheduled for December 1, with the child needing to arrive in the U.S. beforehand for examinations and preparation. The girl was born with a congenital defect affecting her ear canals and auricles, causing significant hearing loss. Leading Israeli ENT specialists have unequivocally stated that no medical team in Israel performs the combined surgery required to open the ear canals and reconstruct the auricles for a child of this age. They stressed the critical importance of performing the surgeries now to leverage the brain's plasticity in early childhood, preserve the child's language and cognitive development, and prevent irreversible psychological and developmental damage before she starts school. The family has raised over $105,000 to fund the initial surgery on her right ear at a specialist center in California, with a subsequent surgery planned for the left ear. The family stated the mother cannot travel alone and simultaneously care for their daughter during her recovery, as well as their infant child who is under a year old. Professionals also warn that the father's absence during the child's anxious recovery period could cause severe psychological harm. In an urgent letter of warning and distress submitted Sunday by attorney Nathan Rosenblatt and the "Emmet LeYaakov BeYisrael" organization, the family's representatives are demanding immediate intervention from the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Chief of Staff, President of the State, and State Comptroller. The letter claims that even in severe criminal cases, a mechanism exists for controlled humanitarian travel abroad, yet urgent appeals to military authorities and the Manpower Directorate (Mitav) have been met with "an impenetrable wall and dangerous foot-dragging." "The State of Israel cannot afford to harm the health of a helpless toddler due to legal and political struggles," the urgent appeal reads. "The life, hearing, and future of the little girl are now on your table, do not stand idly by!" The letter noted that a formal request to the head of Mitav was submitted on November 5, but the father has not yet received permission to travel. The family's representatives requested permission for him to accompany his daughter for both surgeries and then return to Israel, and also to establish a procedure for promptly handling similar medical requests. The surgery is scheduled for December 1, and the child needs to arrive in the U.S. prior to that date for examinations and preparation.