Israel Provides Humanitarian Aid to GazaIsrael Provides Humanitarian Aid to West BankAs the world plans to commemorate the United Nation’s World Humanitarian Day Thursday (Aug. 19), Israel continues to stand at the forefront of global relief efforts. The UN on Dec. 11, 2008 selected Aug. 19 to honor victims who lost their lives while providing humanitarian assistance.[1]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s MASHAV program (Hebrew acronym for Israel’s Center for International Cooperation) works to solve global humanitarian crises and provide assistance for those in need. In 2010 alone, MASHAV has trained aid workers and provided medical assistance worldwide, through undertakings such as:
- sending Israeli ophthalmologists in June to Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to perform over 100 procedures, including cataract surgeries, and to demonstrate surgical techniques to local doctors;
- providing blankets, tents, and other emergency equipment to Moldova following recent flooding in the country;
- dispatching Israeli medical professionals specializing in burns and plastic surgery to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help victims of a major tank truck explosion;
- sending aid including medications, hygiene products and baby equipment to the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border to help refugees and victims of the ethnic conflicts in the region. The work was coordinated with Israeli Ambassador to Uzbekistan Hillel Newman.[2]
Click here to read more about MASHAV’s latest global aid work
Israel’s Commitment to Global Humanitarian Assistance: Haiti
Click here for TIP Updates on Israeli Relief work in Haiti
In the wake of the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, Israeli and Jewish humanitarian aid groups provided critical relief for that nation. [1]
On Jan. 14, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials went to Haiti as part of a 220-person Israeli delegation to set up a Home Front Command field hospital and rescue unit. Teams from Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service, and Israel Police also traveled to Haiti to provide assistance .[2] Medical personnel comprise the majority of the humanitarian team given Haiti’s need for trauma care.[3]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed officials from the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and Public Security Ministry to quickly formulate action plans to assist Haiti just a day after the earthquake.[4] Said Netanyahu, “Our decision to immediately dispatch a large Israeli team of doctors, nurses, medics, search and rescue personnel, medicines and equipment for a field hospital and operating room to Haiti expresses the deep values that have characterized the Jewish People and the State of Israel all throughout our history.”[5]
Humanitarian and International Aid: A Core Israeli Value
Within a decade of Israel’s founding, the government and its people had demonstrated a deep commitment to engage in humanitarian relief efforts and international development programs. In 1958, Israel adopted an official humanitarian aid agenda as a principal element of the country’s international cooperation efforts.[6] Over the years, the country has extended international humanitarian aid assistance to more than 140 countries, even to those who do not maintain – and even refuse – diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.[7]
Israeli soldier with Darfur refugees (Courtesy of IsraAid)
Israel has granted asylum to hundreds of refugees from Sudan’s Darfur region.[8] According to the UN, more than 400,000 people have been killed in the six-year-old Darfur conflict, and more than two million more have been displaced.[9] The conflict has been marked by widespread atrocities such as mass rape, military attacks on civilians and ethnic cleansing.[10]
In September 2007, the Israeli government granted asylum to 498 Darfur refugees.[11] The following month, the government gave 51 of them new homes at kibbutzes – collective living communities unique to Israel – where they now live and work.[12] On Oct. 17, 2007, then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that 300 of the Darfur refugees were successfully settled in homes in the southern Negev region.[13] Israel’s foreign ministry announced in September 2007 that it would donate $5 million to victims of genocide in Darfur — $4 million via international aid organizations and $1 million through the purchase and donation of medicine and water desalination equipment. [14]
There also has been significant grassroots, social activism by Israeli civil society organizations on behalf of Darfur refugees. The Committee for Advancement of Refugees from Darfur (CARD) coordinates and oversees all of Israel’s media efforts and political advocacy aimed at bringing greater public awareness to the Sudanese refugee problem in Israel.[15] Similarly, the Hotline for Migrant Workers, a non-governmental organization, has undertaken legal action for the refugees. The Hotline’s volunteers visit detention centers, take testimonies and provide clothes and phone cards.[16] Among other NGOs assisting Darfurian refugees are the World Union of Jewish Students Institute (WUJS) in Arad, the Jewish Agency for Israel[17] and a number of kibbutzes such as Kibbutz Eilot in southern Israel.[18]
Voice of America recently profiled a 25-year-old Israeli man, Yotam Sheffy, who has dedicated himself to helping provide Israel’s Darfurian refugees access to food, medical care and schooling. Sheffy, whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors, said, “There’s no difference. And if the doors weren’t open there for my grandmother by simple village Christians, not me nor my father would be alive.”[19]
Govt.-sponsored International Development Program Provides Wide Range of Services
The Center for International Cooperation, better known by the acronym MASHAV, is the Israel Foreign Ministry’s international development program. MASHAV assists countries striving to alleviate global problems of hunger, disease and poverty by providing technical training and sharing technology to improve quality of life.[20] MASHAV’s projects include Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, Crisis Medicine Training, Community Development, Education, Empowerment of Women, Social Change and Humanitarian Aid. [21]
One example of MASHAV’s work is its African Market Garden project, which aims to enhance agricultural yields and reduce risk to single-household farm-plots in arid and semi-arid zones. [22] In MASHAV’s Eye Camps program, Israeli eye doctors set up temporary clinics in developing countries for two-week periods to treat preventable blindness and ocular disease. The doctors treat hundreds of patients, perform operations and train local staff. [23]
Disaster Relief: The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and the Kashmir Earthquake of 2005
The Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004 was one of the worst natural disasters in history. Israel sent 60 tons of aid to Indonesia, which was well-received by a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, and no ties with Israel. [24] The Israeli government also sent a small number of Israel Defense Forces personnel with 82 tons of relief supplies, including medicine, water, food, blankets, tents, nylon sheeting and electric generators to Sri Lanka.[25] The Israeli charity organization ‘Coah Latet Meir Panim’ (The Power to Enlighten Faces) contributed 250,000 water-purifying tablets, 1,000 water containers, medical equipment and medication. [26] Magen David Adom (Red Star of David) – Israel’s division of the International Red Cross – in cooperation with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent (used in place of the Red Cross in many Islamic countries),[27] dispatched additional urgent medical supplies to hospitals in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, including more than 4,000 vials of critically needed serum albumin valued at more than $100,000[28].
Israeli organizations were also involved in providing aid to Pakistan after the November 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. An Israeli NGO, Israeli Flying Aid (IFA), which provides disaster relief around the world, sent a mission to the region and provided thousands of families basic dry food products, blankets, coats, socks, personal clay heating kits and iron sheets to shield temporary shelters from heavy snow. [29]
Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team
The Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team (FIRST) is an Israeli NGO that sends search and rescue teams to disaster zones around the world. An earthquake in Peru in August 2007 killed more than 520 people and left 90,000 people homeless. FIRST sent a delegation of three doctors and three nurses to assist those injured by the earthquake. FIRST has also provided relief assistance in Turkey, India, Mexico, El Salvador, Greece, Armenia and New Guinea, among others.[30]
IsraAID (The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid)
IsraAID, founded in Israel in 2001, is an umbrella organization of more than 35 Israeli and Jewish non-governmental organizations and other individuals active in development and relief work around the world. Its members include the American Jewish Committee (AJC), B’nai B’rith International, FIRST, the Jerusalem AIDS Project, United Jewish Communities (UJC), Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), Save a Child’s Heart, the Israeli Friends of Tibet and Aid Without Borders (AWB). [31]
According to IsraAID, its members “believe in providing humanitarian aid worldwide to people in need, regardless of religion, race, gender, nationality, age and disabilities.”[32]
IsraAID and its members have provided relief assistance to more than 20 countries including Rwanda, India, Mexico, Congo, Chad, Sudan (Darfur) and Malawi[33]. IsraAID partnered with organizations to bring relief to areas hit by the deadly 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia including Sri Lanka[34] and co-coordinated the first Israeli humanitarian mission on the Kenya-Somali border, during which the Israeli team provided aid to Somali refugees.[35]
The organization, along with FIRST, sent a team of six medical personnel and airlifted almost two tons of medicine and medical equipment to Pisco, Peru, to aid the victims of an earthquake that struck the country on Aug. 15, 2007. The medical team opened several field clinics in areas affected by the earthquake and treated at least 400 patients. [36]
Save a Child’s Heart
Click here for SACH’s current list of children getting emergency heart surgeries in Israel
Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) is an Israeli organization that provides urgent pediatric heart surgery and follow-up care for children from developing countries [37]. SACH was founded in 1995 and has since repaired the hearts of more than 2,100 children from a wide variety of countries [38] including China, Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq, Jordan, Russia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine as well as to children in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. In June 2010 SACH reached out to its 40th country by bringing Sara Magdalena Reyes to Israel for emergency heart surgery. [39]
In January 2009, SACH provided life-saving surgery to a Gaza child related to a top leader of the Hamas terrorist organization.[40] The procedures and other assistance are carried out at the Wolfson Medical Center in the Israeli town of Holon. Another notable example of SACH’s work is the treatment it has provided to Iraqi children since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. The organization has treated dozens of Iraqi children, including 6-year-old Iman (see picture) in January 2007[41].
6-year-old Iman from Iraq with his mother in Israel for heart surgery sponsored by the Israeli organization Save a Child’s Heart (Photo: Ofer Amram, YnetNews.com)
Footnotes:
[2] http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/missionhome.asp?MissionID=16210&
[1] “4 Israelis feared missing; delegation departs to Haiti,” YnetNews, Jan. 13, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3833870,00.html
[2] “PM Netanyahu Orders Aid Delegation to Haiti,” Prime Minister’s Office, Jan. 13, 2010, http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/Spokesman/2010/01/spokehaiti130110.htm
[3] “B’nai B’rith International Provides Disaster Relief in Haiti,” B’nai B’rith International Press Release, Jan. 13, 2010, http://www.bnaibrith.org/latest_news/Haiti11310.cfm
[4] “Israel sends rescue team to Haiti as several Israelis are missing,” JTA, Jan. 13, 2010, http://blogs.jta.org/philanthropy/article/2010/01/13/1010159/israel-sends-rescue-team-to-haiti-as-several-israelis-are-missing
[5] Ibid.
[6] “International Humanitarian Relief – MASHAV– The Israel Foreign Ministry Center for International Cooperation,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 1, 2002, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Mashav+%E2%80%93+International+Development/What+is+Mashav/Israeli+Humanitarian+Relief-+MASHAV+-+the+Israel+F.htm#countries
[7] Ibid.
[8] Sofer, Ronny, “Government okays absorption of 498 Darfur refugees,” YnetNews, Sept. 23, 2007, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3452414,00.html
[9] “Annan welcomes extension of African Union mission in Darfur,” Web site of the UN, Sept. 21, 2006 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19948&Cr=sudan&Cr1=
[10] African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), “Darfur – Unamid – Background,” UNAMID press release, ttp://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/background.html, accessed Dec. 9, 2007; “Darfur Destroyed: Ethnic Cleansing by Government and Militia Forces in Western Sudan,” Human Rights Watch, May 2004, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/sudan0504/
[11] Sofer, Ronny, “Government okays absorption of 498 Darfur refugees,” YnetNews, Sept. 23, 2007, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3452414,00.html
[12] “Israel releases 50 Darfur refugees,” AFP, Oct. 18, 2007, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071018/wl_mideast_afp/israelrefugeesudandarfur_071018120602
[13] Frenkel, Sheera Claire, “Gov’t eyes Ghana, Kenya for refugees,” The Jerusalem Post, Oct. 18, 2007, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1192380586033
[14] Eichner, Itamar “Israel to donate $5 million to Darfur refugees,” YnetNews, May 9, 2007, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3397639,00.html
[15] Committee for Advancement of Refugees from Darfur, http://www.cardisrael.org/about-english.htm
[16] Hotline for Migrant Workers, http://www.hotline.org.il/english/news/2006/Hotline122306.htm
[17] “Jewish Agency provides shelter to 58 refugees from Sudan,” Jewish United Fund, July 13, 2007, http://www.juf.org/news/israel.aspx?id=24430
[18] Dressler, Tamar, “From Darfur to Eilat: Refugees’ new life,” YnetNews, June 17, 2007, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3413031,00.html
[19] Ramirez, Luis, “Young Israeli Helps Darfur Muslims Find Refuge and Hope in the Jewish,” Voice of America, March 25, 2009, http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-25-voa17.cfm
[20] “About MASHAV: Our Mission,” MASHAV Web site, accessedFeb. 19, 2008, http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?SubjectID=17267&MissionID=16210&LanguageID=0&StatusID=0&DocumentID=-1
[21] “What We Do: Community Development,” MASHAV Web site, accessedFeb. 19, 2008, http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?SubjectID=18152&MissionID=16210&LanguageID=0&StatusID=0&DocumentID=-1
[22] “What We Do: Agriculture and Related Disciplines,” MASHAV Web site, accessedFeb. 19, 2008, http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?SubjectID=18146&MissionID=16210&LanguageID=0&StatusID=0&DocumentID=-1
[23] “What We Do: Eye Camps,” MASHAV Web site, accessedFeb. 19, 2008, http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?DocumentID=49514&MissionID=16210
[24] “Israel at forefront of tsunami relief campaign,” Israel21c, accessedFeb. 24, 2008, http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El879&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Democracy
[25] “Israel Sends Doctors, Supplies To Aid Tsunami Victims” United Jewish Communities Web site, Dec. 29, 2004, http://www.uja.org/page.html?ArticleID=75515
[26] Israel at forefront of tsunami relief campaign,” Israel21c, accessedFeb. 24, 2008, http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El879&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Democracy
[27] “Who we are: our vision and mission,” Web site of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, retrieved April 2, 2008, http://www.ifrc.org/who/index.asp?navid=03_01
[28] Israel at forefront of tsunami relief campaign,” Israel21c, accessedFeb. 24, 2008, http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El879&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Democracy
[29] “Disaster Response,” Israeli Flying Aid Web site, retrieved Feb. 24, 2008, http://www.ifaid.org.il/disaster.asp
[30] Mandel, Roi, “Israeli mission to aid Peru,” YnetNews, Aug. 20, 2007, http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3439964,00.html
[31] “Members,” IsraAid Web site, http://www.israaid.org.il/default.asp, accessed April 3, 2008; “What is IsraAid,” IsraAid Web site, http://www.israaid.org.il/background.asp, accessed April 3, 2008
[32] “What is IsraAid,” IsraAid Web site,” http://www.israaid.org.il/background.asp, accessed April 3, 2008; “First time ever Israeli Team to leave for Kenya – Somalia Border,” IsraAid Web site, March 1, 2007, http://www.israaid.org.il/story_page.asp?id=1058
[33] The Israel Project, interview with Shachar Zahavi, founder and coordinator of IsraAid, April 4, 2008.
[34] Teger, Shira, “IsraAid brings relief to Sri Lanka,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 12, 2005
[35] “First time ever Israeli Team to leave for Kenya-Somalia Border,” IsraAid Web site, March 1, 2007, http://www.israaid.org.il/story_page.asp?id=1058
[36] “Israeli Medical Mission Aid Peru Quake Victims,” IsraAid Web site, Aug. 24, 2007, http://www.israaid.org.il/story_page.asp?id=1125
[37] “The Save A Child’s Heart Project,” Save A Child’s Heart Web site, accessedFeb. 24, 2008, http://www.saveachildsheart.com/about_sach/about.html
[38] “Save a Child’s Heart Newsletter,” Save a Child’s Heart Web site, March 2009, accessed April 22, 2009, http://www.saveachildsheart.org/sip_storage/FILES/5/1535.pdf
[39] “El Salvador – SACH helps its 40th country,” Save a Child’s Heart Web site, accessed Aug. 18, 2010, http://www.saveachildsheart.org/265-3059-en/News.aspx?pos=10
[40] Gilman, James, “Israeli humanitarian group saves Gazan boy,” The McGill Tribune, Feb. 3, 2009, http://www.saveachildsheart.org/sip_storage/FILES/6/1396.pdf
[41] Yasur Beit-Or, Meital, “Iraqi children arrive at Wolfson for surgery,” YnetNews, Jan. 3, 2007, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3371556,00.html; “The Save A Child’s Heart Project,” Save A Child’s Heart Web site, accessed Feb. 24, 2008, http://www.saveachildsheart.com/success_rate/success.html
