IDF soldiers on Tuesday packing supplies on an Israel Air Force plane bound for Sri Lanka. (Reuters)
Posted on 12/28/2004 8:49:46 AM PST by anotherview
Dec. 28, 2004 8:43 | Updated Dec. 28, 2004 13:44
Israel sends aid to Thailand, Sri Lanka
By MATTHEW GUTMAN
As the world is preparing what United Nation's officials titled "the most expensive aid relief mission" for 10 Southeast Asia countries, Israel is preparing several delegations headed for Sri Lanka and Thailand.
India, unlike Thailand and Sri Lanka, has not requested any Israeli assistance.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said an immediate decision was made to send $100,000 worth of food and medical supplies.
Israel reduced its planned humanitarian mission to Sri Lanka from a 154-member delegation to just a handful of people who will accompany the shipment of 10 tons of relief aid to the disaster-stricken nation.
The change in the makeup of the mission – which was to include army doctors, rescue and relief workers and eight Israeli journalists – followed hours of intense negotiations between the Israeli and the Sri Lanka governments. Neither stated the reasons for the change of plan.
Sri Lanka Ambassador Diffa Digeratna said Tuesday morning: "We are very thankful to the government of Israel for providing those facilities to Sri Lanka."
He said that due to logistical constraints and "the lack of accommodations in Colombo" (the capital), his government had requested that Israel send a reduced delegation.
Sri Lanka said more than 10,000 people were killed along its coastlines, and Tamil rebels said 2,000 people died in their territory, raising that country's toll to more than 12,000.
Over a million-and-a-half people have been left homeless in Sri Lanka.
An Israeli medical mission to Thailand was dispatched by the Health Ministry on Monday. Minister Dan Naveh asked director-general Avi Yisraeli to appoint the members immediately. Headed by associate director-general Boaz Lev, it includes five physicians and four nurses from Ichilov, Ha'emek, Beilinson and Kaplan hospitals.
Israel dispatched a 15-person medical team, including nine army doctors, to Phuket, Thailand, Monday night to assist rescue operations.
Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, the head of Zaka (Disaster Victims Identification), was in the ministry Monday coordinating details to send a delegation to the area to extend aid and, if need be, identify bodies.
President Moshe Katsav on Monday expressed his condolences to the families and nations of the thousands of victims.
Describing the earthquake as "one of the biggest natural disasters in history," Katsav voiced the hope that those people listed as missing will be found safe and sound.
The State of Israel is pained by the tragedy, he said, and noted that the Foreign Ministry is making every possible endeavor to find Israelis in the region who have not yet made contact with their anxious families at home.
With Margot Dudkevitch
The nerve of the Israelis sending a delegation to help humanity. What's next? A vaccine to cure HIV?
/sarcasm off
Yes and how much is Saudi, Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt etc etc, SENDING
Don't hold your breath for much humanitarian aid from the Arabs.
Now who is trying to help who??
Jews helping others in the world including some who have tried to elimanate the Jews as a people?? So much for the Isralite scheme to take over the world.
Where is the "religion of Peace" apologists, explaining how Islam doesn't allow charity for acts of GOD, only for acts of SATAN.
Israel has always been close to Thailand & even Sri Lanka has trade/defense ties with them.It's probable that Indonesia has refused any aid offer from Israel like Iran did during the Bam earthquake.India declined the Israeli offer,not for political reasons, but because the death toll is rather limited by the standard of Indian disasters(Hate to say that!!) & because the affected states have markedly better infrastructure than other parts of the country.
Ping
When did Sri Lanka or Thailand (neither of which are Muslim countries) try to destroy the Jewish people or Israel? This is clearly some bit of Jewish and/or Israeli history I must have missed.
IDF soldiers on Tuesday packing supplies on an Israel Air Force plane bound for Sri Lanka. (Reuters)
It's just a method of lulling the rest of the world into complacency, and confusing them.
Did they make this demand of other countries that are also sending aid?
I honestly don't know. I expect not, though.
That's an interesting question that someone here raised when I told him about this.
God bless the tiny shrinking nation of Israel for their genrosity to aid other nations during disasters!
BTW, one of my sons and his wife attend a nondenominational Bible church in a small city in Arizona. They attend church every Sunday and Bible classes once during the week. They recently commented to me that they 'support Israel'. Their comment infuriated my Democrat mother who said "religion and politics don't mix". However, I asked my son why they voted for Bush and he said it was about 'steadfast leadership' and 'viewpoints they could relate to'. In other words, their religion is the reason they care for Israel but not their key issue in voting. Oh my, even my grandchildren (aged 3 and 4) join them in praying for Israel.
Now, when will the Pope kiss the Torah?
LOL!
Well, it's their fault in the first place and now they're coming over to colonize, don't you know. /sarcasm
LOL Yep. "Them durn Joooooooosssss"
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