As a result of a “worldwide CNN investigation” into what appears to be a growing black market in body organs, there are ongoing investigations into growing operations in both the United States and Israel.
The report cites one case in which an Israeli paid an organ broker $100,000 and traveled to China for a kidney transplant. Now, the organ broker is referred to as “the killer” by the family, which documented the deplorable conditions of the hospital in China and the entire ordeal surrounding the transplant. The 18-year-old Chinese girl who donated the kidney died following surgery. She received $5,000.
A new Israeli law passed in 2008, banning brokering kidneys, makes things more difficult today. However, anyone producing a live donor, claiming he is a relative, can then fly abroad and go ahead with a transplant.
Unfortunately, as has been the case in other recent tainted news, in this case too, a man who exhibits a chareidi exterior stands at the helm of the operation, Levy Yitzchak Rosenbaum, a resident of the United States, who is reportedly main player, connecting America, Israel and China. Rosenbaum’s name is also mentioned in the Swedish report alleging IDF soldiers kills Arabs for their organs.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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10 Responses
That is what distinguishes Israel from other nations: Nations of the world enact laws which obviously are temporary since thousands of people are dying because of a law that prevents a willing donor to get paid. A single party in a different sovereign country does not abide by that law. This person while breaking a law of a different country is actively saving human lives and the press is bandying this about which shows how great a nation we truly are. Other nations are guilty of murder robbery incest rape torture barbarism cannabilism of their ancestors savagery and atheism avodah zarah witchcraft kishuf voodoo racism genocide toevah evil dictatoships persecution of jews decadence and a host of other evils. One of the Jews is guilty of saving lives. It should be pointed out that in fact the organ laws may be properly enacted but in the case of a jewish life no stone can be left unturned. Since the press don’t understand that one Jew observing Torah may be keeping their whole country alive how could they understand this.
#2, #1 makes a good point. Your cynicism has it’s place but you are rendering a judgment, and on top of that it is a heavy handed one.
What is wrong with doing something good and earning money for what one does?
Does every doctor see healing as “just another way of making a buck off someone”? Does every lawyer help to bring a client justice as “just another way of making a buck off someone”? Does every teacher see investing in a child as “just another way of making a buck off someone”? Is one who sells provisions for Shabbos doing so as “just another way of making a buck off someone”? I am sure in some cases this is true, but to judge everyone as doing what they do with no level of altruism at all, is a bit harsh.
What you do for a living – is it just another way to make a buck off someone? Or, is there some meaning for you in what you do even though you accept a pay check?
#1 – Many of the organs are not voluntarily donated but are taken by the government, which keeps the money — Saving a life by killing someone isn’t allowed (barukh ha-Shem for such a law, which exists in most cultures, otherwise the hilonim who are much richer than we are would be happy to schecht frummies whenever they need an organ) — if the operation were legitimate then it would be an open non-profit, not clandestine for profit
sammy guy, if you didn’t have $25,000 the cardio surgeon wouldn’t do a bypass on you either. If you don’t have $20,000 you can’t get teeth implants. Sorry but the business of saving people’s lives is just that, a business. Ask the people who pay $100,000 a year for chemotherapy.
#5 – are you actually a “plant” by the Obama people – sneaking in an argument for socialized medicine??
CNN is blocking my criticisms on their web page, so I might as well post here.
1. Of course its anti-Israeli. There are incidents of unethical kidney procurement taking place all over the world, but CNN, Nancy Sheper-Hughes, et al. are focused almost exclusively on Israel. Ghoulish organ swiping urban legend stories feed on each other for evidence of authenticity. This story will be used to give credence to the Swiss organ swiping story. Organ swiping urban legends always have a politically biased purpose, whether or not its premeditated. In the 80’s Russia started anti-US organ swiping urban legends in Latin American and other developing countries. The most childish, ignorant tales you can imagine. Entertaining, and at the same time guaranteed to fuel anger against gringos. In the early 90’s (I think it was) an American woman was beaten to death in Columbia by an angry mob certain that she was there to steal their children’s organs and ship them back to the US.
2. You have to pause a second and look at CNN’s reporting of this critically. Yes, I know the story’s entertaining, but just think about it. There are undoubtably incidents of illegal payment in the US, and a greater occurance of this unethical practice in developing countries, but they have absolutely no evidence to justify their claim that a vast black market exists in the US. They give a 1600 illegal transplants a year figure, and absolutely no evidence. Watch carefully. What they are presenting as established fact is friend of a friend innuendo, and other biased unsubstantiated claims. For instance, they have Nancy Sheper-Hughes on every night claiming ghoulish goings on. She’s been promoting organ swiping urban legends for 15 years. She makes a living from this. In the 90’s she, and the UN, were very busy promoting Latin American organ swiping stories as established fact. Another: note how they make no effort to verify that a young Chinese girl that supposedly gave the kidney actually existed, or died. China is not behind an iron curtain anymore. They verify nothing.
3. Jews in Israel and in the US promoting a libertarian “organ market” have only themselves to blame for how easily this is being twisted into anti-Israel propaganda. It was inevitable. Instead of focusing on creating a popularly supported altruistic donation system like in Spain, and some areas of the US, the medical community in Israel either ignored the need, or promoted the “organ market”, claiming that regulation would make it ethical, safe, and fair, and that any public preception of ghoulishness was irrelevant. History and experience have proven that organ procurement can never succeed without the widest possible active support from the public. I’m constantly exasperated that seemingly no one stops to consider that there is a vast world wide experience with what works and what doesn’t in organ procurement. Its as though people think that its brand new territory.
While I am sorry to hear that the 18 year old Chinese girl died, let’s call a spade a spade. She did not DONATE her kidney; she SOLD it.
What angered me about the CNN report is that they failed to mention Rav Elyashiv’s public outcry against using trafficked organs from China. When he came out against that about a year and a half ago it was all over the news. It would have been proper reporting to mention that in this recent report.
A good law should be that anyone who was guilty of terrorism without any doubt and if resulted in the murder of an Israeli victim this person should have his kidney surgically removed in order to save a patients life. This would be a perfect midah kenegged midah. He took a life he must save a life.
#7,
You said, “There is a vast difference between doing something legitimate and earning a paycheck or making a profit, and doing something illegal, while making a buck off others’ suffering” as a response to someone’s post to you.
Your ORIGINAL statement was assumptive by stating someone who is broker is such because, “It is just another way of making a buck off someone dying.”
Whether it is legal or not has nothing to do with your judgement that it is “just another way to make a buck off someone dying”, and not a valid response to the person who said the broker is trying to save lives.
Your point, in actuality is, you are against it because it’s illegal. The fact that you think horrible of the intent of the person is beside the point. And, again, you did not respond to if your work is meaningless to you personally because you make money at the end of the week.
I am sure you can understand the room for difference of opinion.