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Rachel falls ill
Uri Avnery Social activist
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Until one day… even before this, I think, she had physical problems. She underwent all kinds of tests and they found nothing, all the tests indicated that she was absolutely fine. Then one doctor said, a doctor who was not a specialist, just a doctor: 'You might want to check if she has a disease'. What's it called? I'm suppressing it – liver disease. The liver is a very, very dangerous organ for which there is no substitute. And we went to check, and sure enough she had an incurable liver disease. We went to the very best doctor in Israel, Professor Shouval, who was world-famous. And she was in his care for 20 years, I think, even more. And every 6 months and then every 3 months we went for testing.

So we went every 6 months and then every 3 months for examination by Shouval. I'm an optimist. I have always said: 'Don't worry, it will be okay'. She was a pessimist, and she would worry before each visit and would not sleep before each visit. And Shouval, who had a wonderful nature, a really comforting person, each time he gave her a 'certificate of fitness'. Until one day, unexpectedly… it felt like an attack dog which slept outside the door and could be aroused at any moment. And that was what happened. And it took a few months when we lived together in the hospital, and that was it. There is a lot more to tell about Rachel, but some other time. When the time is right. Within the proper sequence of events.

זהו, עד שיום אחד… עוד לפני זה אני חושב, היו לה בעיות גופניות. היא עברה כל מיני בדיקות ולא מצאו שום דבר, כל הבדיקות הוכיחו שהיא בסדר גמור. ואז אמר רופא אחד, רופא לא מומחה, סתם רופא, שאולי כדאי לראות אם יש לה מחלה של, איך זה נקרא? מודחק אצלי, מחלת כבד. כבד זה איבר מאוד-מאוד-מאוד מסוכן, אין לו תחליף. והלכנו לבדוק, ואכן הייתה לה מחלת כבד שאין לה מרפא. והלכנו לרופא הכי-הכי-הכי טוב בארץ, פרופ' שובל, בעל שם עולמי. והיא הייתה בטיפול שלו עשרים שנה אני חושב, אפילו יותר. וכל חצי שנה ואחר-כך כל רבע שנה הלכנו לבדיקה. אז הלכנו כל חצי שנה ואחר-כך כל שלושה חודשים לבדיקה אצל שובל. אני אופטימיסט. אני תמיד אמרתי: "אל תדאגי יהיה בסדר”. והיא פסימית, והיא חששה לפני כל ביקור ולא ישנה לפני כל ביקור. ושובל, שיש לו טבע נהדר, אדם מרגיע כזה, נתן לה תעודת כושר כל פעם. עד שאיזה יום אחד, במפתיע, הייתה הרגשה כמו כלב טורף שישן לפני הדלת ויכול להתעורר כל רגע. וכך אכן קרה. ולקח כמה חודשים שגרנו יחד בבית החולים וזהו. על רחל יש הרבה מה לספר, אבל בפעם אחרת. במועדו. בתוך הרצף האירועים.‏

Uri Avnery (1923-2018) was an Israeli writer, journalist and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. As a teenager, he joined the Zionist paramilitary group, Irgun. Later, Avnery was elected to the Knesset from 1965 to 1974 and from 1979 to 1981. He was also the editor-in-chief of the weekly news magazine, 'HaOlam HaZeh' from 1950 until it closed in 1993. He famously crossed the lines during the Siege of Beirut to meet Yasser Arafat on 3 July 1982, the first time the Palestinian leader ever met with an Israeli. Avnery was the author of several books about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including '1948: A Soldier's Tale, the Bloody Road to Jerusalem' (2008); 'Israel's Vicious Circle' (2008); and 'My Friend, the Enemy' (1986).

Listeners: Anat Saragusti

Anat Saragusti is a film-maker, book editor and a freelance journalist and writer. She was a senior staff member at the weekly news magazine Ha'olam Hazeh, where she was prominent in covering major events in Israel. Uri Avnery was the publisher and chief editor of the Magazine, and Saragusti worked closely with him for over a decade. With the closing of Ha'olam Hazeh in 1993, Anat Saragusti joined the group that established TV Channel 2 News Company and was appointed as its reporter in Gaza. She later became the chief editor of the evening news bulletin. Concurrently, she studied law and gained a Master's degree from Tel Aviv University.

Tags: Daniel Shouval, Rachel Avnery

Duration: 3 minutes, 12 seconds

Date story recorded: October 2015

Date story went live: 11 May 2017