{"id":51539,"date":"2014-12-23T01:39:35","date_gmt":"2014-12-23T01:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=51539"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:27:08","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:27:08","slug":"gazas-doctor-mads-gilbert-named-norways-person-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/12\/gazas-doctor-mads-gilbert-named-norways-person-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza\u2019s Doctor Mads Gilbert Named Norway\u2019s Person of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr<\/a>

Dr Gilbert, pictured here in 2009, has been a frequent visitor to Gaza<\/p><\/div>\n

20 Dec 2014 – An outspoken Norwegian doctor whose efforts to treat Palestinians wounded in the Gaza conflict garnered worldwide attention has been named person of the year by the country\u2019s largest tabloid, Verdens Gang (VG).<\/em><\/p>\n

Mads Gilbert, 67, whose day job is head physician and anesthesiologist as the University Hospital of North Norway, spent more than fifty days treating many of the 11,000 injured in this summer\u2019s conflict.<\/p>\n

Gilbert was vocal in his criticism of Israel during the war, describing the country\u2019s actions as \u201cstate terrorism at the highest levels.\u201d Israel later banned the doctor from Gaza. The ban was officially for security reasons, but Gilbert himself claimed the ban was due to his comments about the war. Israel denied reports that the ban was for life.<\/p>\n

He gave graphic accounts to international media of the situation in Gaza\u2019s hospitals, describing how civilians were \u201cmaimed and torn apart\u201d. In an open letter to the Lancet medical journal, he and a number of other doctors said they were \u201cappalled by the military onslaught on civilians in Gaza under the guise of punishing terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilbert\u2019s is a controversial figure in Norway, where he is considered to be on the far-left fringe of politics. Following the 9\/11 attacks in 2001 he said he supported terror attacks against the US, saying western foreign policy justified them.<\/p>\n

The award was the result of a vote among VG\u2019s readers.<\/p>\n

Explaining the award, VG\u2019s editor Torry Pedersen described Gilbert as a \u201cself-sacrificing, engaged Norwegian doctor who again and again has risked his life, has stood in the middle of a bloodbath in Gaza, and who has just one goal: to save the lives of as many children as he can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accepting the prize, Gilbert said he interpreted the award as support, \u201cnot primarily for me, but for the long-suffering Palestinian people. I think that people are longing for plain speaking, to know what\u2019s really happening in Gaza. I\u2019m trying to fill that role as best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is Doctor Mads Gilbert?<\/strong><\/p>\n