This documentary has a misleading title – in fact there are three American (U.S.A.) doctors whom we follow as they try to serve injured Palestinian children and adults in Gaza. The injuries, needless to say, are the result of targeting with bullets, tank shells, bombs, and missiles by the occupying Israeli forces. This is illegal. This is inhuman cruelty. This is murder. This is genocide.
The first doctor we meet is Mark Perlmutter. He is in his home, arguing with Poh Si Teng, the director of the film, about whether to include the pictures of dying Palestinian children in the film without blurring their faces. Perlmutter makes the point that these faces must be shown, not only to honor the children who have died, but that to do otherwise would be journalistic malpractice.
While Perlmutter is Jewish, and Israel would have us believe that every action they take is in support of Jews everywhere, he is the most outspoken of the three we will meet in terms of his outrage at the atrocities he’s seeing visited upon the Gazans. He sets the moral tone for the film, including this: “What surprised me the most [when he got to Gaza] was how the carnage that was induced focused on children, healthcare workers, and journalists.”
A second American doctor is Feroze Sidhwa, a Zoroastrian by faith. We meet him as he enters the Nassar Medical Complex in Khan Unis, Gaza. Like the other two, he was here in Gaza a year before, but has decided to return during a brief cease fire. Also like the others, his trip here is through the auspices of MedGlobal, an international humanitarian NGO (non-governmental organization). He describes himself as someone who must stay involved because his country, the US, is so involved.
The third American doctor is Thaer Ahmad. He is from Chicago, is a Palestinian-American Muslim, and active in the Muslim community there. We meet him as he is speaking to a Muslim group in Chicago, describing what it is like at the Gaza hospitals. He talks about how the Israeli occupying force got away with their first attack on a hospital, and how that set the stage for the impunity with which they have attacked so many more. As he names the hospitals, one after another, we see video captured at the time, showing the horrors we are never shown in Western media.
“American Doctor” is produced and directed by Poh Si Teng, who has woven video and narration into something incredible.
This is a heart-wrenching film. Teng captures the dedication of these three men to their colleagues who cannot leave Gaza, and their patients who must continue to endure death and terror. It is a testament to the existence of people who can still see humanity in others. Together, they work to fulfill their promise to continue the struggle for justice where it counts: in the United States.
If you’re capable of feeling the misery of others – not just your family members, friends, or countrymen – who may be a world away, this film is a must see.
Runtime: One hour, 31 minutes
Availability: Showing at film festivals (Sundance, Hot Docs, etc.); not yet in theaters or streaming.
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