Mads Fredrik Gilbert (born 2 June 1947) is a Norwegian physician, humanitarian, activist, and politician for the Red Party.Deep Journal, (30 January 2009). Unconventional weapons used in Gaza, says Norwegian surgeon based in Gaza He is a specialist in anesthesiology and head of the emergency medicine department at the University Hospital of North Norway and Professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromsø.
Gilbert has a broad range of experience from international humanitarian work, especially in locations where medical and political issues merge. Since the 1970s, he has been actively involved with solidarity work concerning Palestinians, and he has served as a doctor for several periods in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon for NORWAC. His efforts have been central to leading the city of Tromsø, since 2001 a twin town of Gaza, to claim to be the city that has sent more health workers to the Palestinian territories than any other in the world.Tromsø Kommune (1 June 2001). Ordføreren til Gaza His book on the Gaza War, Eyes on Gaza (2009), has been translated into several languages. Gilbert has been lauded as a "hero" in Norwegian media for his work in Gaza; his humanitarian work has been hailed by Prime Ministers Kåre Willoch, Jens Stoltenberg and Erna Solberg, and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. On 6 May 2013, King Harald V appointed Gilbert as a Commander of the Order of St. Olav for his "wide-ranging services to emergency medicine."St. Olavs Orden til Mads Gilbert, 6 May 2013, Aftenposten, He has also done volunteer work at a kibbutz.Arbetaren Zenit, Nr 21/2009, page 9
Gilbert has been the subject of controversy for his political activism. In November 2014, it was announced that Israel had indefinitely banned Gilbert from entering Gaza, officially for security reasons."Gilbert utestengt fra Gaza på livstid", VG, 14 November 2014, The decision sparked outrage and the Norwegian government subsequently requested that the decision be reversed.Mads Gilberts sykehusdirektør har sendt helseministeren brev med bønn om Israel-hjelp, 14. november 2014, Dagbladet, The Israeli Foreign Ministry later clarified that the ban regarded setting foot in Israel, not Gaza. Israel, Haaretz wrote, is the only available transit point for entering the Gaza Strip when the Rafah border from Egypt is closed.'Norwegian doctor banned from Israel, not Gaza, Foreign Ministry says,' Haaretz 17 November 2014.
Early life and education Gilbert was born on 2 June 1947 in Porsgrunn, Telemark, to a family of French Huguenot ancestry. His father Mads Fredrik Gilbert was an electrician, while his mother was a nurse. His family soon relocated to his grandmother's one-bedroom apartment in Oslo and he grew up in the borough of Majorstua until the age of 10 and later in Lambertseter. In the mid-1960s he enrolled in the Oslo Cathedral School. After finishing high school, he briefly studied veterinary medicine, however, he switched to general medicine following an accident involving his younger brother. He graduated from the University of Oslo in 1973.
He describes growing up in a "very political household" with many political discussions. He describes his parents as well-informed about the world and his father specifically as very well-read. He describes his mother as an inspiration, who taught him to think critically and be aware about siding with the weak.
Political career Gilbert's political activism was sparked by the Vietnam War, and he initially became a member of the Solidarity Committee for Vietnam (Solkom). He later joined the Marxist-Leninist SUF(m-l) and the Maoist AKP(m-l), and was an active member (the latter party only accepted "active membership") during the 1970s.
He is a member of the Red Party, and has represented its direct predecessor, the Red Electoral Alliance, the electoral front of the AKP(m-l) in the Troms county council for three terms, from 1979 to 1987 (two terms), and from 1995 to 1999.
Medical career Since 1976, he has mainly worked at the anaesthesiology department at the hospital in Tromsø, the current University Hospital of North Norway (UNN). For a while he worked at Gravdal hospital in Lofoten. He did research at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and received the Dr. Med. doctoral degree at the University of Tromsø in 1991 for a thesis on metabolism and blood circulation during anaesthesia. He became Professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromsø and head of the emergency medicine department at the University Hospital of North Norway in 1995.
The Bågenholm case
Following a skiing accident in May 1999, Anna Bågenholm was trapped for more than an hour in icy waters and was pronounced clinically dead, but survived after the resuscitation efforts of Gilbert and his team at the University Hospital of North Norway.BBC News, (28 January 2000). Skier revived from clinical death Her body temperature was 13.7 °C, which represented the lowest survived body temperature recorded as of 2017.The Lancet, Volume 355, Issue 9201, Pages 375 - 376, 29 January 2000. Resuscitation from accidental hypothermia of 13·7°C with circulatory arrest Gilbert was awarded Årets nordlending 2000 ("Northern Norwegian of the year, 2000", by the readership of the Tromsø newspaper Nordlys.Nordlys, 23 December 2000, Årets nordlending Gilbert's breakthrough in treating extreme hypothermia has been chronicled in Cheating death : the doctors and medical miracles that are saving lives against all odds by Sanjay Gupta, as well as being featured in CNN's television program Another Day: Cheating Death. In 2013, Gilbert was made a commander of the Order of St. Olav for his overall contributions to emergency medicine.NTB: St. Olavs Orden til Mads Gilbert Aftenposten, 6 May 2013
Work in the Gaza Strip
Gaza War Gilbert arrived on emergency assignment for the Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC) with the surgeon Erik Fosse to support the humanitarian effort at al-Shifa Hospital during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, Skrunes, Trond Olav Aftenposten.no (4 January 2009). - Situasjonen er forferdelig a period when Israel barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip. As international media reported from outside the conflict zone, Gilbert maintained frequent contact with Norwegian media,Klungtveit, Harald S.; Fransson, Line Dagbladet.no (4 January 2009). - Mange barn og en gravid kvinne blant de skadde Gundersen, Anja Tho, TV2.no (4 January 2009). Gilbert: - Vi vasser i blod og død as well as segments of the world press, including CNN, BBC, ABC and Al Jazeera.
Following a grenade strike to a Gaza City vegetable market on 3 January, Gilbert sent an SMS text to his Norwegian and international contacts, with an appeal for all who read it to pass it on. Fondenes, Eivind, TV2.no (4 January 2009). Tekstmelding fra krigssonen The Sterile Eye (4 January 2009). Norwegian doctor in Gaza: - We’re wading in blood
The ensuing response sparked reports of Gilbert's message on a global scale,International reporting of SMS text: El-Khodary, Taghreed, The New York Times (4 January 2009). Gaza Hospital Fills Up, Mainly With Civilians Bluhme, Kate, Ekstrabladet (4 January 2009). Vi vader i død og blod - GØR NOGET! Bergfeldt, Carina; Heuman, Johannes, Aftonbladet (5 January 2009). ’Vi vadar i blod’ Sommelius, Sören, Helsingborgs Dagblad (5 January 2009). SMS-nödrop från Gaza: Vi vadar i död och blod Rebelión (5 January 2009). "Estamos operando en los pasillos" McSmith, Andy, The Independent (5 January 2009). For a child, war means mum reads you stories Lindahl, Björn, Svenska Dagbladet (8 January 2009). Gilberts sms spreds över hela världen and scores of declarations of support to the Norwegian Palestine Committee.Johansen, Bente H.; Lysvold, Susanne, NRK.no (5 January 2009). Kjedemelding skapte telefonstorm
Asked about this incident in an interview with Al Jazeera, Gilbert said: "people in Gaza must know that they are not on their own, many people are with them, although we are not there but we are with them and they must not give up, for the people of the free world ponder on your patience and inspire from your strength. If you give up then the people behind you will give up..."
On 5 January, after 10 days of the Israeli heavy air bombardment on Gaza strip, BBC news reporter Rushdi Abu Alouf in Gaza interviewed Gilbert on the situation inside Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital. Gilbert stated that an overwhelming majority of the casualties he had treated were civilians, and women and children alone made up 25% of the death toll, and 45% of the wounded.BBCnews.com (5 January 2009). Casualties rise in Gaza offensive
On 8 January 2009, while in Gaza, Mads Gilbert was in a video which appeared on CNN which showed the brother of a Palestinian TV producer dying while Gilbert and another doctor worked to save him. This video became subject to controversy and accusations that the scene was staged. World News and Features, the camera crew's employer, and the producer himself denounced the allegations. CNN also stated on their web site that they stand by the video.CNN.com (9 January 2009). Gaza video genuine, journalists say Two weeks later, the CNN published a video report on their website refuting the bloggers' allegations point by point. Two independent doctors who were shown the video said that they had no doubt that the hospital scene and Gilbert's work was genuine.
Reception in Norway The doctors were "received as heroes" by the Norwegian public, and received praise from commentators from most of the mainstream political spectrum for their work during the Gaza War. On 11 January 2009, Prime Minister (now NATO Secretary-General) Jens Stoltenberg stated that he had called Gilbert and Fosse to "thank them and recognize the work they have done to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza since 31 December last year. They have not only taken on a difficult medical mission, but have also demonstrated great personal courage and compassion. They have been a voice to the world. The Government supports the work of the doctors and their organization. We will continue to support this important work."Stoltenberg hyller norske Gaza-leger, VG,
Labour Party Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and former conservative Prime Minister Kåre Willoch both wrote endorsements for Gilbert and Fosse's 2009 book Eyes in Gaza; Kåre Willoch wrote that "Israel held journalists away while subjecting the people of Gaza to unfathomable suffering. But two Norwegian doctors were there. Their powerful narration throws a powerful spotlight on a brutality which also damages Israel, and impedes peace."Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse. Øyne i Gaza. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 2009.
Among critics were the right-wing Norwegian Progress Party leader Siv Jensen who described Gilbert as a "local politician from Rødt [Red Party]", criticizing that he has been permitted without censorship to act as a voice of "anti-Israel propaganda."Leader, Bergensavisen (9 January 2009). Både for og mot krig Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre condemned Jensen's attack against Gilbert and Fosse, calling it a "disgrace" and stating that Gilbert and Fosse "have shown great courage and acted in accordance with the best medical traditions, namely by helping the oppressed."Støre: - Legeutspill en skamplett 9 January 2009, VG Jensen was also criticized of hypocrisy and of supporting Israeli terror against Palestinians by former government minister Audun Lysbakken. Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg and Liberal Party leader Lars Sponheim also criticized Jensen; Erna Solberg lauded Gilbert and Fosse for "saving lives."
Aftermath