Mycroft
31st December 2003, 02:34 PM
Israel's president is calling on Israeli citizens to find ways of donating to Iranian relief indirectly through international humanitarian organizations, despite Iran's rejection of aid from the Jewish state.
"I am sorry about the decision of the rulers of Iran to reject the humanitarian good will of the citizens of Israel," said the Iranian-born Moshe Katsav, according to a report in the daily Yediot Aharonot. But he added, "I distinguish between Iran's rulers and the Iranian people."...
...In the wake of the rebuff, Israeli officials and non-governmental organizations vowed to continue private efforts to collect funds for Iranian victims. But the most urgently needed help — from Israel's vaunted military rescue teams — was never given a chance.
At least one Israeli charity, Latet, is raising funds. It is not clear if Iran will accept aid from Israeli citizens, but Latet plans to channel its funds through an anonymous third party.
http://www.forward.com/issues/2004/04.01.02/news7.html
It’s great that Israel and Israelis are still willing to offer aid despite Iranian refusal, but being forced to seek back-channels and hide the aid means that all they can really provide is money. Israel is capable of doing much more, if only the Iranians would allow it:
Relief experts said Israeli rescue teams would have been uniquely suited for the conditions in the destroyed area. Drawing on Israel's extensive experience with collapsed buildings, a result of terrorist bombings, the Israeli Defense Force's search-and-rescue teams have developed advanced technologies for delicately removing people from rubble without the heavy machinery and tractors that are normally used.
Israeli teams have been deployed to many foreign disaster sites in recent years. One of the most successful campaigns was in another Islamic country, Turkey, after its 1999 earthquakes. In one of those trips, Israeli forces recovered 12 survivors and 140 bodies.
"The Israeli forces are the most organized, and they come with the best technology," said Ami Bergman, who accompanied Israeli teams on the Turkey relief mission as a representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. "More importantly, they don't give up until every stone is turned over. In Iran I am hearing that they are already giving up after three days."
Money and man-power can come from anywhere, but specialized teams specifically trained to rescue people from collapsed buildings are not so easy to come by. It’s incredibly sad that there are teams and equipment available just a few hundred miles away that will go unused.
"I am sorry about the decision of the rulers of Iran to reject the humanitarian good will of the citizens of Israel," said the Iranian-born Moshe Katsav, according to a report in the daily Yediot Aharonot. But he added, "I distinguish between Iran's rulers and the Iranian people."...
...In the wake of the rebuff, Israeli officials and non-governmental organizations vowed to continue private efforts to collect funds for Iranian victims. But the most urgently needed help — from Israel's vaunted military rescue teams — was never given a chance.
At least one Israeli charity, Latet, is raising funds. It is not clear if Iran will accept aid from Israeli citizens, but Latet plans to channel its funds through an anonymous third party.
http://www.forward.com/issues/2004/04.01.02/news7.html
It’s great that Israel and Israelis are still willing to offer aid despite Iranian refusal, but being forced to seek back-channels and hide the aid means that all they can really provide is money. Israel is capable of doing much more, if only the Iranians would allow it:
Relief experts said Israeli rescue teams would have been uniquely suited for the conditions in the destroyed area. Drawing on Israel's extensive experience with collapsed buildings, a result of terrorist bombings, the Israeli Defense Force's search-and-rescue teams have developed advanced technologies for delicately removing people from rubble without the heavy machinery and tractors that are normally used.
Israeli teams have been deployed to many foreign disaster sites in recent years. One of the most successful campaigns was in another Islamic country, Turkey, after its 1999 earthquakes. In one of those trips, Israeli forces recovered 12 survivors and 140 bodies.
"The Israeli forces are the most organized, and they come with the best technology," said Ami Bergman, who accompanied Israeli teams on the Turkey relief mission as a representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. "More importantly, they don't give up until every stone is turned over. In Iran I am hearing that they are already giving up after three days."
Money and man-power can come from anywhere, but specialized teams specifically trained to rescue people from collapsed buildings are not so easy to come by. It’s incredibly sad that there are teams and equipment available just a few hundred miles away that will go unused.