Today: September 9, 2010

 

From the Heart of Israel

Posted: Thu 4th March 2010 3.18 PM  | Author: Maoz Israel

Usually Israel has little to be happy about as a nation among the nations. But Israel's relief effort in Haiti was so impressive that the world media, for once, praised Israel in amazament of her astonishing rescue operations. Of course Israelis are proud! Here is the story from Israel's point of view...

It was Tuesday, just before midnight in Israel, and before turning in, we switched on Fox News for a few minutes. The anchor announced there had been a 7 plus earthquake in Haiti but no more details were available. We didn’t know the capital of Haiti already lay in ruins.

But Israel’s First Responders sprang into action. Within hours, the Israel Defense Forces dispatched a five-member team to see what assistance would be most useful. Using satellite phones the team reported that thousands of people lay dead or alive under cement slabs and some one million were living on the street while aftershocks continued to rock the city. Israel’s military translated that information as a great need for complex surgical operations of broken and smashed bones and deep wounds.

Israel’s goal was to set up a field hospital in order to provide a first response to the citizens of Haiti until the arrival of additional medical forces from other nations capable of dealing with the magnitude of the situation. Professional volunteers were not a problem. Within minutes of Israel’s decision to send a medical team, the field hospital commander received 200 phone calls. He said more than 300 doctors wanted to volunteer. (Jerusalem Post, 22Jan10)

Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the eastern Caribbean, Amos Radian, was at home in Santo Domingo, when the earthquake hit. He said he felt his house shake “like mad” from the earthquake and aftershocks for 40 minutes.

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