Two images of Israel, seen through the eyes of Cincinnati surgeons, speak to the contradiction that is modern life there.

        “I don't know how to explain it,” pediatric surgeon Marc Arkovitz said by phone from Jerusalem. “But every restaurant, hotel has a security guy in front of it.”

        The reason for such vigilance is the daily threat of mass murder by Palestinian suicide bombers, who've killed more than 200 Israeli civilians since 2000.

        He and Dr. Jeffrey Pearl, also a surgeon at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, return home today, having toured hospitals in Netanya and Hadassah, site of numerous bombings.

        There, they saw something that might surprise some Westerners: Arabs and Jews side-by-side, as doctors, nurses and patients.

        “It's interesting,” said Dr. Arkovitz, 37. “It's one of those things where politics doesn't come into play.”

        The men went as Jews, not physicians or representatives of Children's. The tour was sponsored by United Jewish Communities.

        Their hospital visits fueled a desire to return to Israel to offer medical assistance, but Dr. Arkovitz said Israel has a high percentage of doctors and efforts to join volunteer programs were so far unsuccessful.

        “I'd love to come here and work as a doctor,” he said, “to give something tangible, so it's frustrating in that sense.”

        He spoke of a devastated tourism economy, near-empty hotels, a cab driver and of Memorial Day.

        “The cabbie, he just got back from Jenin,” Dr. Arkovitz said. “A few of the guys in his unit were killed. So on Memorial Day, when I think about that, it's really very touching.”

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