(Monday, August 25, 2025) – Shamir Medical Center has announced the successful return of an Israeli medical delegation to Ethiopia, where sight-saving treatments were provided to more than 1,600 patients, including refugees and members of the Ethiopian Jewish community.
The mission, led by Prof. Morris Hartstein, senior oculoplastic surgeon at Shamir Medical Center, was carried out under the auspices of Operation Ethiopia, a non-profit founded by Prof. Hartstein and his wife, Alisa. The team spent six intensive days in Ethiopia, setting up mobile eye clinics in four different locations and delivering urgently needed care to those with no access to ophthalmologists.
In total, the delegation treated 1,653 patients, including nearly 500 orphaned children, and distributed over 440 pairs of eyeglasses and 654 units of medication donated by Jewish communities in Israel and around the world. The team worked at refugee camps near Debre Berhan, the Mother Teresa Charity Mission, the Mekedonia Center for people with disabilities, and within the local Jewish community.
“What began in 2014 as a family volunteer trip has become our life’s mission,” said Prof. Hartstein. “We witnessed people losing their vision to conditions that can be treated easily elsewhere, cataracts, infections, and preventable diseases, simply because they lack access to care. We felt compelled to return year after year, because otherwise these patients would remain untreated.”
Accompanied by ophthalmology medical residents from Shamir, Beilinson, and Meir Medical Centers, as well as ten volunteers, the delegation worked under difficult conditions, often setting up makeshift clinics inside churches, classrooms, or tents.
“People line up from six in the morning,” said Alisa Hartstein, who manages Operation Ethiopia. “We examine hundreds of patients each day. The gratitude, the relief, and the joy we see, it’s indescribable.”
The mission was marked by deeply moving moments. In one refugee camp, an 11-year-old girl who had suffered from poor vision for years burst into laughter and tears of joy after receiving her first pair of glasses. Later that day, she spotted Prof. Hartstein in the street and ran to hug him. In another case, an elderly man who had endured years of vision loss blessed the medical team in Amharic, moving the delegation to tears despite the language barrier.
Beyond direct treatment, the Israeli doctors also worked with Ethiopian physicians, some trained in Israel, and provided local teams with training in basic care and first aid. This long-term capacity-building ensures a sustainable impact well beyond each mission.
For more than a decade, Operation Ethiopia has been a lifeline for thousands of Ethiopians, especially among vulnerable communities. With the support of Jewish donors in Israel and the Diaspora, the organization continues to expand its reach, embodying a modern-day tikkun olam by restoring the gift of sight and building bridges of compassion.
About Operation Ethiopia
Founded by Prof. Morris and Alisa Hartstein, Operation Ethiopia is a non-profit dedicated to providing sight-saving eye care in Ethiopia. The initiative has grown from a family mission into a thriving organization, bringing Israeli doctors and volunteers to Ethiopia multiple times a year to set up field clinics, perform surgeries, and distribute glasses and medications.
Attached is an image of Professor Hartstein treating a patient in Ethiopia
Credit: Abel Gashaw
