Harald Fischer
Encyclopedia
Harald Fischer was a German
chiropractor
residing in the West Bank
since coming to Palestine
in 1981 to work for a German charity. After retiring from professional life, Dr. Fischer continued to provide free medical care to local residents.
He was residing with his Palestinian wife in Beit Jala
near Bethlehem
when his village was attacked by Israeli
helicopter gunships. Fischer initially took cover under a stairwell with his wife, but later left his home to assist an injured neighbor whose house had been partially destroyed in the attack. As he entered the street Dr. Fischer was struck and instantly killed by an Israeli missile that left one of his legs severed and his body riddled with shrapnel. Fischer's 17-year-old son Danial recounting his father's death in an interview
with the Chicago Tribune said "Sometime during the night we heard our neighbors, the Assaf family, cry out for help," he recalled "Their house was hit and on fire. Dad ran out into the street. He made it only halfway to the Assafs. We couldn't even get any ambulance
into the street. The Israelis were firing at it."
In response to the killing German foreign minister
Joschka Fischer
declared he was "shocked and horrified". Two days after his death Dr. Fischer's body, draped in a Palestinian flag and escorted by police officers from the Palestinian Authority, which regarded Fischer as a martyr, was given a funeral
at Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation and buried near his home. Fischer was the first Lutheran to die in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and the first foreigner to die in the al-Aqsa intifada
.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
residing in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
since coming to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1981 to work for a German charity. After retiring from professional life, Dr. Fischer continued to provide free medical care to local residents.
He was residing with his Palestinian wife in Beit Jala
Beit Jala
Beit Jala is an Arab Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at altitude...
near Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
when his village was attacked by Israeli
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
helicopter gunships. Fischer initially took cover under a stairwell with his wife, but later left his home to assist an injured neighbor whose house had been partially destroyed in the attack. As he entered the street Dr. Fischer was struck and instantly killed by an Israeli missile that left one of his legs severed and his body riddled with shrapnel. Fischer's 17-year-old son Danial recounting his father's death in an interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
with the Chicago Tribune said "Sometime during the night we heard our neighbors, the Assaf family, cry out for help," he recalled "Their house was hit and on fire. Dad ran out into the street. He made it only halfway to the Assafs. We couldn't even get any ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
into the street. The Israelis were firing at it."
In response to the killing German foreign minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
Joschka Fischer
Joschka Fischer
Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens. He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005...
declared he was "shocked and horrified". Two days after his death Dr. Fischer's body, draped in a Palestinian flag and escorted by police officers from the Palestinian Authority, which regarded Fischer as a martyr, was given a funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
at Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation and buried near his home. Fischer was the first Lutheran to die in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
and the first foreigner to die in the al-Aqsa intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
.