An Abilenian in Israel: Texas mother shares experience bringing medical aid to refugees
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Jessica Cortez is a Dallas mother who grew up in Abilene. She says it’s the West Texas point of view and her Christian upbringing that led her to chart a solo trip to Israel with a mission to bring more than 5,000 tablets of antibiotics and some wound care supplies to refugees displaced or otherwise affected by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Cortez said this trip and previous travels have opened her eyes to see the conflict beyond division.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Cortez meets with soldiers and locals before delivering aid to Refugees in Gaza
“I’ve seen people, Oh, we’re for Israel, we’re not for Palestine and Gaza. We should be for everyone because we’re all God’s children,” Cortez told KTAB/KRBC.
She arrived in Jerusalem through Greece, leaving for the West Bank early Friday morning on February 16th. There, she met up with a trusted local source that was able to receive the medical supplies to be distributed to families in need in Gaza, where the fighting is the most intense.
“What they were gonna do is give it to families that couldn’t afford to get this medication,” said Cortez.
She said knowing that people who might have had to go without treatment can now fight off infection and sickness without worrying about the cost has made her journey well worth it. But even with her initial task completed, her work is not done. This Texas mom is determined to get to know the people most impacted by this conflict.
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“I was able to go into the emergency room; there was a little boy there,” Cortez said.
There, she met a young Palestinian boy being treated for a head wound. Although a language barrier prevented her from directly speaking with the boy’s mother, her actions and intent could transcend spoken word to find common ground between them.
“The picture doesn’t show everything, but in the back, you can see the blood stains and stuff. It wasn’t something a child would get injuries from. He just was happy to see me. I had brought him chocolate. I said hello to his mother. I just wanted to cry because I felt so bad… She (the boy’s mother) just kept nodding her head, and they always say Mashallah,” said Cortez.
‘Mashallah’ means ‘God has willed it’ in Arabic. A sign to Cortez that she is on the right path. Just one day prior, she stated that she felt this trip to the Middle East was a mission blessed by God, giving her the strength to see it through.
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But war can strain even the strongest of faiths, as Cortez saw that same day. She filmed outside a local Mosque where hundreds of Muslim worshipers were waiting hours to enter the building and pray. The line slowed to a crawl due to heightened security.
Cortez’s footage showed a man being restrained by nearby security. A local journalist translated the exchange between the man and the guards to Cortez.
“They couldn’t stand long in that line… They kinda let him go because he kept saying God sees everything, and my poor mother is just trying to pray. Pray for this world is from what they translated to me,” Cortez recalled.
On the drive up to the Mosque, she also witnessed some people climbing makeshift ladders to try and get into the Mosque, presumably to pray without waiting in the ever-growing line. Following the security interaction, a Turkish news outlet turned to Cortez inquiring about her shirt, which reads, “God loves all. Ceasefire now”. The journalist told her she may receive unwanted attention as a foreigner displaying such a bold statement.
“[They told me] Wearing a shirt like that causes a lot of attention that I may not want by the police or by the army. And I told them I didn’t care. I wanted to get the word out there that not only do people here in Jerusalem or Gaza care about them, but as an American, I care about them too,” said Cortez.
She shared that although she knows she has family and friends back home, she is willing to face the consequences to relay her message of solidarity and do good for people who are truly in need. She hopes Americans back home will hear her message of care to all involved in this conflict rather than seeing things along the lines of division.
“Anytime that you give that little happiness that maybe they have some darkness… It actually gives life back to you… That’s going to fuel me probably for the rest of my life,” Cortez said.
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When asked about what she has learned from her experiences there, Cortez shared a message of unity and hope for the situation in Israel, imploring Americans to open their hearts and see the humanity of the people involved, no matter which country they call home.
“I think that what I would tell somebody or anybody or everybody is don’t be biased… We are now in that time to pray, pray for each other,” said Cortez.
She will spend a few more days in Bethlehem and Jericho, meeting with locals and attempting to establish a secure supply network to continue to provide aid to refugees in Gaza. She will return home to Dallas in the next two to three days.
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