Ten years later: How an Israeli surgeon saved three lives in on Yom Kippur - opinion

A decade after a catastrophic car accident in the Caucasus Mountains, the story of an Israeli surgeon who flew to Georgia on Yom Kippur eve to save a family is retold by his mother, Barbara Sofer. In 2016, the Grinfeld family's jeep tumbled 80 meters into a ravine on the dangerous Abano Pass. Mother Noa and son Yiftach were critically injured. With Ben-Gurion Airport shut for the holiday, a complex rescue involving VitalOne, multiple Israeli government agencies, and the Israeli Consulate in Georgia was coordinated. Orthopedic surgeon Prof. Josh Schroeder, then at Hadassah Medical Center, agreed to fly out. He received the go-ahead during Kol Nidre services. He stabilized Noa's detached cervical spine in Tbilisi and took over Yiftach's treatment from local doctors. The team flew back, and surgery continued through Yom Kippur at Hadassah. The framing relies on a personal, emotional narrative voice, celebrating the rescue as an act of Zionist dedication.

A decade after a catastrophic car accident in the Caucasus Mountains, the story of an Israeli surgeon who flew to Georgia on Yom Kippur eve to save a family is retold by his mother, Barbara Sofer. In 2016, the Grinfeld family's jeep tumbled 80 meters into a ravine on the dangerous Abano Pass. Mother Noa and son Yiftach were critically injured. With Ben-Gurion Airport shut for the holiday, a complex rescue involving VitalOne, multiple Israeli government agencies, and the Israeli Consulate in Georgia was coordinated. Orthopedic surgeon Prof. Josh Schroeder, then at Hadassah Medical Center, agreed to fly out. He received the go-ahead during Kol Nidre services. He stabilized Noa's detached cervical spine in Tbilisi and took over Yiftach's treatment from local doctors. The team flew back, and surgery continued through Yom Kippur at Hadassah. The framing relies on a personal, emotional narrative voice, celebrating the rescue as an act of Zionist dedication.

Ten years later: How an Israeli surgeon saved three lives in on Yom Kippur - opinion