An evangelical pastor from Uganda had to receive extensive emergency medical treatment in Israel last week after he was splashed with acid by Muslim extremists in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Pastor Umar Mulinde, 38, arrived in Israel on Thursday seeking urgent medical attention after extremists doused him with acid, causing severe burns to his face, torso and hand, and damage to his right eye. Mulinde recently began preaching support for Israel, and was attacked on christmas Eve, Dec. 24. He was initially admitted to the International Hospital in Kampala, but then made a request to be brought to Israel to receive advanced medical treatment. He is currently being treated at the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, which has confirmed that Mulinde is recovering from heavy burns and damage to his eye. The Ugandan pastor revealed that he spent most of his life as a Muslim and was a late convert to Christianity. Recounting the brutal attack against him, he said, "I was attacked by someone who called out to me and when I turned to look over, he spilled acid on me that burned part of my face. When I turned around again, another person spilled acid over my back. They they ran away yelling Allahu Akbar [Allah is great]." According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mulinde contacted Andrea Gottlieb, the executive director of the online Jewish distance learning portal JerusalemOnlineU.com, for financial and logistical support so he could be treated in Israel. Gottlieb took on the request and contacted the director-general of the Sheba Medical Center, Professor Zeev Rotstein, who agreed to help Mulinde. The pastor was then brought to Israel and provided with medical treatment free of charge. Upon his arrival at the Sheba Medical Center, Mulinde underwent an initial medical assessment by the head of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery's Burns Unit, Dr. Josef Haik, and the head of the hospital's Goldschleger Eye Institute, Dr. Joseph Moisseiev. "The pastor will need to undergo a series of reconstructive surgeries over the next few weeks," Dr. Haik said. "The injury inflicted to [Mulinde's] eye is severe and the initial surgery, expected take place over the next few days, will focus on reconstructing the eyelid of the affected eye, and will include skin grafts." Dr. Noa Avni-Zauberman, an eye doctor working at the Sheba Medical Center who also treated Mulinde, spoke on the pastor's injuries, saying, "The damage caused is severe and it is still too early to determine whether [Mulinde] will be able to see out of that eye."
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