In the end there will be nothing to add as the Israeli teams have already arrived amongst the first teams to arrive and after most have left there will be Israelis seeking and finding the places most remote to give aid and comfort. The initial IDF coordinating team which also doubles as a relief center and as the coordination of even the most remote assets making every team is given whatever assistance they may require. An IDF spokesperson was quoted telling an Arutz Sheva reporter of their mission, “The purpose of the delegation is to examine the level of assistance needed in the area, an analysis of the surface area and scale of the disaster, and adjusting the State of Israel’s response via the IDF as needed. The disaster is complex and difficult in the present case, where there is extensive damage to life and property, and sending a team of this type is in accordance to protocol. The IDF will help on behalf of the State of Israel in any disaster around the world where it’s needed.”
United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom (MDA) have sent their initial delegations to Nepal late in the day Sunday. Quoting the leader of United Hatzalah commenting on the initial scope of the relief initially being provided by them and MDA, Eli Beer stated that the organizations “will set up a field clinic to grant medical assistance” at the scene and that they are additionally “ready to treat many victims for fractures, dehydration, and infection.”
All teams from around the world will be arriving to see devastation beyond imagination as the initial earthquake measured 7.6 with a one massive aftershock amongst the several others measured as a 6.9 making it a secondary earthquake to strike the region. The death toll has tragically vaulted past thirty-two-hundred people with more than 4,500 injured. Officials have already stated that this was the worst earthquake Nepal has suffered in eighty-one years. The way Israel will play their role in the dispensing aid and comfort to the citizens and any travelers who may need assistance is indicative of the truth one would find in Israel and Israelis as a rule. Amongst those visiting there are two-hundred Israelis that remain to be located, let’s hope they are safe and not found trapped or worse. Let’s pray the toll which remains to be assessed is mostly structural and property and that the toll in lives will be minimal as there have been enough who have paid the ultimate price. There remain numerous remote locations which have not been assessed but that is an area at which the Israeli teams have proven their worth repeatedly. Just as in the Philippines where they found one village and gave assistance much of which had little to do with the disaster but were more along the lines of initial aid as this remote village had never received any outside help previously, not from any disaster or aid from the government in schools or medical facilities. This was rectified before the Israelis finished their time with these people. Finding more remote places which need general assistance and not so much from damage caused by the earthquake prove to be the case this time as there has been sufficient suffering from nature’s fury.
The people of Nepal are about to be given a view of Israel and most Israelis which is quite far removed from the one represented by the media across the globe and even often in Israeli media such as Haaretz. It is sad that it is only during such emergencies that people get to see Israel in action caring and giving comfort to those in need and meeting them with a hand outstretched in friendship and warmth. There will be no coverage granted Israel and nothing that Israel will gain on all the places where such goodwill returned is so badly needed. There have been a few exceptions, one was a short story about the level and speed with which the Israeli aid center and hospital was already treating patients in Haiti even before some nation’s initial search teams had arrived. Another was also from Haiti and referred to a more personal story where George Exantus, a dancer, was given a specially designed prosthetic leg which permitted his dancing career to continue. We recently referred to this story but it deserves another reference to our initial coverage in the article titled, Why Doesn’t Israel Refute the Propaganda Against Her? The final coverage Israel received was by a reporter who was seeking any remote location where aid had not been provided and she had been directed to a village which had never received any aid, be it from disaster relief or simple government aid and when she arrived at the village there were the Israelis busily providing aid. Her story remained about the village the world had forgotten except she had a new twist to end her article as aid had beaten her to the village and was being provided by an Israeli team. Needless to point out, the reporters who came across these stories were surprised to see the Israelis giving so much of themselves and making these sacrifices cheerfully and glad they could help wherever they went. The real shame is that it takes a disaster to allow the world an opportunity to see the generous and giving side to Israel.
There is another program run by the Israelis which treats a more personal and family tragedy just as serious and life-threatening as an earthquake, tsunami, or other crisis which was also covered in the article noted above. We stated in that article the following; “The program is called SACH which stands for “Save a Child’s Heart” and has two main visions for service. The first is to treat any child needful of heart surgery in Israel even arranging transport through a third country for the Arab children from nations who have such relations with Israel that the child and parents would be put to death should Israel be stamped as a destination on their Visa or Passport. The Israelis have treated numerous Palestinian children with this program as well and invest most of their efforts and charity in places where the children with heart defects or disease would have little if any possibility for survival. They bring the child, parents and even entire families in appropriate situation and provide free care and follow-up treatments giving the child a chance for a normal life. This program also assists in setting up children’s cardiac care centers in hospitals in countries where no such care exists and train physicians in the procedures used in treating cardiac problems and disease in children. All of this is done as charity under the Jewish concept of being a light unto the nations and setting an example of how man can act when doing his best free from hate or judgmentalism.” I guess it could be said that Israel has the daunting task of winning the hearts and minds of the world one individual in need at a time.
It remains a sad state of affairs that preconceived perceptions will even cloud some people’s minds that even when presented with such evidence their primary state of hate for Israel proves the stronger emotion as we have seen in too many instances. One that is etched into my memory was of an Arab woman from Gaza. Her husband had thrown acid on her face which caused acid burns. She was treated in an Israeli hospital and had been given a number of surgeries and was returning to the hospital for her supposed final visit. Her demeanor was well known to the crossing guards and something in her attitude this final visit sent alarms ringing in the guards’ minds, so they took her aside to check her for explosives. She was placed in a bombproof room and during the inspection she detonated the explosives which were estimated to have been a few pounds of explosives, sufficient to have destroyed the hospital clinic and killed every body inside. That was to be her repayment for the aid she had been provided and the sensitivity and what the clinic believed friendship they had forged over months of treatments. When the nurses and doctors were informed of what transpired at the crossing they were noticeably shaken and incredulous, some breaking into tears at the loss, the complete loss on so many levels. Lost friendship, lost trust, lost compassion, lost life of a person they had come to feel closeness with, but mostly lost innocence as this person they had let into their closest trust and had developed an emotional attachment and appeared to have had mutual exchanges of so much during the months of treatments and to find out she had intended to murder all of them just was too much shock and proved discomforting, but it is difficult to understand how such things can happen is beyond belief and incredulous, but also all too true and a portent of the danger faced in this often crazed world in which we all have to live and find our way through the emotional maze we often find ourselves lost within.
Beyond the Cusp
Beyond the Cusp 