Page 14 - Jewish News_Oct2021

14A October 2021 FEDERATION NEWS

Does Israel deserve a place among the nations

of the world? – Part 2

By David Millstone

hen it comes to humani- Germany, Iraq, South Sudan, Kenya The Ebola Epidemic in West Africa supplied assistance to help the country
tarian needs, Israel is there and Uganda. IsraAID focuses on the MASHAV, the Israeli governmental prepare the logistics and public educa-
Wfor friends and foes alike. practical challenges refugees face. It agency for International Development tion in advance of rolling out the vac-
It has demonstrated time and again it also provides mental health assistance. Cooperation, initially sent experts in cine to make the effort more effective.
is a leader in providing help when it is IsraAID professionals provide sustain- public health and infectious diseas- IsraAID created e-learning tools to
most needed. Last month we focused able programs to build resilience, com- es to Cameroon and additional aid to help vulnerable communities deal with
on ways Israel has helped other nations bat gender-based violence, advance Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone Covid treatment. It also held webinars
when disaster strikes. This month we child protection and improve sanita- and Senegal. As an epidemic spread, for frontline healthcare workers and
look at what Israel does to help other tion. MASHAV sent mobile field hospitals, first responders in several countries to
countries, individuals and neighbors IsraAID provides direct ongoing “Hospitals of Hope,” to Liberia, Sierra help with stress management, psycho-
when they need medical help. medical assistance. For example, in Leone and Guinea, each with a capac- logical first aid and community resil-
Post-Disaster Mental Health Macedonia, IsraAID’s medical mis- ity of 20 beds. IsraAID recruited med- ience.
Treatment sion assisting refugees from Kosovo ical experts to help local teams set up Syrian Civil War Crisis
The non-profit agency IsraAID works included 22 medical professionals plus and run the Hospitals of Hope. Every member of the IDF Medical
closely with the Israeli government in Corps takes an oath promising to care
providing humanitarian aid around the Robert and Esther Heller for every wounded person, whether
globe. The focus this month though is friend or foe. Members swear to treat
medical aid, an area where IsraAID them with wisdom, understanding and
onnect
onnect
shines. Not only does IsraAID provide CRC love of humanity.
humanitarian aid and medical assis- In 2013, seven wounded Syrian
tance when disaster strikes, it stays in combatants were found by an IDF pa-
the country post-disaster to provide trol near the Israeli border. They were
much needed mental health and psy- mostly unconscious and in need of
chosocial services to both frontline medical attention. Based solely on their
medical workers and survivors. For a pharmacist and X-ray and lab techni- Covid-19 Aid medical condition, a decision was made
example, after earthquakes struck Ne- cians. Its field hospital handled up to During the current pandemic, Israel to provide triage on the scene and trans-
pal in both 2015 and 2016, IsraAID 100 patients per day, and the emergen- has also been active in providing aid. fer them by military ambulance to the
teams remained for at least four years cy room could handle several hundred For example, when the second wave of nearest hospital capable of treating se-
to integrate mental health and psycho- patients per day. Covid hit India, Israel provided oxygen vere trauma, the Ziv Medical Center. At
social support services, including in Direct Medical Assistance in Crises concentrators, ventilators, medicines Ziv, all seven Syrians received compli-
the child-friendly spaces of the SOS In addition to the IDF setting up field and other medical equipment to India. cated surgeries and other treatments. All
Children’s Villages of Nepal. hospitals and providing mental health Israel sent teams of experts to help In- survived and were returned to Syria.
Refugee Crisis Assistance workers to assist other countries when dia build factories that could produce Over time there were repeated
With over 25 million displaced per- disasters hit, Israel is there through the necessary medical equipment. An- transfers of wounded Syrians to hos-
sons who are refugees today, IsraAID various non-profits and governmental other example of a different assistance pitals for treatment. What started as
also provides humanitarian relief. It agencies with medical assistance. Here was to the African nation of Eswatini a trickle soon became a flood. Israel
has continuing programs in Greece, are some examples: (formerly Swaziland), where Israel continued on next page

Kehillah Collaborative
Building Jewish Life Through Community

In Hebrew, the word Kehillah
means community.

The Kehillah
Collaborative
brings together
Jewish organizations in
Sarasota-Manatee to share ideas, Sarasota-Manatee
work together Chabad
on programming
and host
collaborative events.

For more information, contact Trudi Krames at
tkrames@jfedsrq.org or 941-706-0037.