Israel
Among First To Respond With Humanitarian Aid To Japan Earthquake,
Tsunami
Israel Flying
Aid in Haiti following the earthquake in January 2010.
By
Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem,
Israel ---- March 11, 2011 ..... Israel's heart and soul is quickly
responding to the massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake that slammed
Japan and the awaiting disasters of lethal Tsunami waves now threatening
many nations in the Pacific.
Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasted no time in offering humanitarian
aid to the victims of Fridays earthquake in Japan. The Israel
Prime Minister's Office and the Israel Ministry for Foreign Affairs
has announced that the first group of Israel humanitarian experts
is now preparing to leave for Japan.
Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a message to the Japanese government,
saying that the people of Israel express their deep sorrow over
the tragedy in Japan, and that he will work to provide any help
that will be required. The Japanese ambassador expressed his gratitude
and said that he will convey the message to his government.
The Pacific
earthquake, which was the largest in Japan in over 100 years,
hit about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo early Friday morning. Devastating
tsunamis with reported waves of over 30 feet followed, wiping
out and submerging entire coastal towns. Resulting tsunamis waves
have been tracked across the Pacific, with possible damage feared
as far away as Hawaii and the US West Coast.
Shachar Zahavi,
founder and coordinator of IsraAID, The Israel Forum for International
Humanitarian Aid, said: IsraAID/FIRST disaster relief teams,
consisting of first responders, search and rescue specialists,
logisticians, emergency medical personnel and water specialists,
are now preparing to travel from Israel to the region within the
next 24 hours.
IsraAID, is
a coordinating organization for 17 Israel and Jewish humanitarian
groups, including Israel Flying Aid which worked side by side
with the IDF in Haiti, has established a Japan and Pacific Earthquake
and Tsunami Emergency Fund to assist victims of this disaster.
For more information please be in touch: szahavi@hotmail.com or
972.54.678.5033 or go to http://www.israaid.org.il.
"Israel
officially offered its help an hour after the earthquake struck,
Shinomya said. It is very heart-warming, but at this
point we do not know exactly what the extent of the damage
is, so it is difficult for us to say what can be done.
IsraAid is
now checking where the team could fly to a nearby country and
then trying to make it to northeast Japan, where the tsunami has
killed hundreds and devastated cities and towns.
Were
in touch with local groups to check the situation in the area,
Zahavi told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Were trying
to get to the closest airport and then get to the affected area
from there.
Following
intensive consultations with the Israel Foreign Ministry and with
emissaries from the Chabad organization in Japan, the UN-recognized
Israel based ZAKA arranged to send a team headed by the organization's
co-directors Mati Goldstein and Dovi Maisel, on Saturday evening
(after the conclusion of the Sabbath). A second ZAKA team based
in Hong Kong was to leave for the quake area after the conclusion
of the Sabbath in their region.
ZAKAs
experts have extensive experience assisting at natural disasters
around the world, including Haiti, the tsunami in Thailand and
the Katrina hurricane in New Orleans.
The Japan
consul in Israel, Mitoshiko Shinomya, told the Israel news Website
Ynet that he was heartened by the Israel government's offer
of assistance.
"Israel
officially offered its help an hour after the earthquake struck,
Shinomya said. It is very heart-warming, but at this point
we do not know exactly what the extent of the damage is, so it
is difficult for us to say what can be done.
Israel, which
has dealt with many disasters through wars and terrorism has become
a nation of experts in emergency medicine and trauma. Israel also
has considerable expertise in clean water management.
Israelis were
among the first on the scene to help during the earthquake in
Haiti and the Jewish tradition of reaching out to those in need
dictates that they would also offer help to people in Japan and
elsewhere stricken by this devastating event.
The Jewish
Federations of North America is setting up an emergency relief
fund to help those in affected areas, a spokesman said, and the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee opened a mailbox
Friday for donations to be used for Japan / Pacific disaster relief.
Donations can be made at https://jdc.org/donation/donate.aspx.
"The
Jewish Federations send our deepest sympathy to people affected
by this terrible event," said Fred Zimmerman, chair of The
Jewish Federations of North Americas Emergency Committee.
We are determined to provide emergency relief as quickly
as possible and to work with our partners to provide support over
the longer term as well.
"JDC
is now conducting an up-to-the-minute assessment of the situation
in Japan and the Pacific Rim and has activated its network of
partners to determine critical, immediate needs of the hardest-hit
areas," the organization said in a statement.
The Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Chicago has opened an emergency mailbox
to provide humanitarian aid to the survivors on the ground.
Funds primarily
will be distributed through the American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee (JDC), with its 97-year history of providing compassionate,
effective emergency relief to the non-Jewish world, and IsraAID,
the coordinating body of Israeli charities devoted to global relief
work.
The
destructive power of the huge earthquake that slammed Japan is
incalculable, but this crisis challenges us who can act to respond,
said American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris.
IsraAID, our partner, often is one of the first non-governmental
groups to reach the disaster and provide urgently needed assistance.
AJC has supported
IsraAID: The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid in
a number of crises, including Haiti last year, a tropical storm
that hit the Philippines in 2009, a devastating earthquake in
Peru in 2007, and Sri Lanka after the South Asian tsunami in 2004.
Japan Prime
minister Naoto Kan has declared a nuclear emergency as his trade
minister admitted that a radiation leak might have occurred at
the Fukushima power plant. The reactors cooling system failed
after the 8.9-magnitude tremor slammed northern Japan at 2.46
pm local time. Pressure in the reactor was rising despite the
US Air Force flying extra coolant to the plant.
Some 20 earthquakes
of magnitude 6 or greater have rocked Japan since today's massive
8.9 magnitude earthquake hit near Honshu, according to the US
Geological Survey (USGS). The largest aftershock was a magnitude
7.1 earthquake that struck less than an hour after the main earthquake.
Nearly 100
earthquakes of a magnitude 5 or greater (including the 20 large
ones) have also followed the main earthquake in Japan. Each magnitude
5 earthquake is strong enough to knock a chimney down.
As the 500
mph tidal wave trekked across the Pacific, tsunami warnings were
issued as far away as Chile. Thousands of people living in parts
of Hawaii and California were told to evacuate their beachside
homes as a precaution, with the massive tidal waves expected to
take 24 hours to subside.
In January
2010, CNN, FOX, BBC and other global media reported that
Israel was the first and only state to have sent an advanced field
hospital equipped with all that is required for surgical operations
to Haiti. Doctors from various international missions sent thousands
of patients requiring surgery to Israel's makeshift hospital.
Israel Flying Aid and other Israel non-profit organizations stayed
in Haiti for several months after the IDF returned to Israel rebuilding
orphanages, feeding children and providing them with clean water
and electricity.