Israeli Firefighters Rush to Greece to Help Battle Wildfire

A group of 25 Israeli firefighters were on the first plane to Greece on Monday after a desperate appeal by the Greek government for assistance in fighting one of the worst outbreaks of wildfire ever to hit the country. The Israeli contingent is the largest of those sent by a total of eight nations.

At least 56 people have died in the fires that have ravaged various parts of the country since Friday. Worst affected was the Zaharo area of the Peloponnese in southern Greece, the scene of most of the deaths.

Tragedy also struck on the island of Evia, north of Athens, where five people were killed and two others injured.

A massive effort by firefighters stopped the rampaging blaze just short of the historic site of Olympia, where the Olympic Games first began. A local fire brigade spokesman said grimly, “The fire reached the hill overlooking ancient Olympia but was stopped just before entering the archaeological site.”

The spokesman said "six planes, two helicopters, 15 fire engines and 45 firemen participated" in the massive effort to contain the blaze on the hillside. The mammoth scope of the destruction prompted Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to declare a “national disaster.” He ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on government buildings.

Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Norway and Slovenia have also said they will send firefighting aircraft, although each has limited its contribution to one or two helicopters. Serbia is expected to send four firefighting planes, and Spain has said it will send two. Switzerland and Iceland also reportedly offered to assist in the effort.

"In 1944 Mayor Carrer of the Greek island Zakynthos was ordered at gunpoint to hand over a list of Jews residing on the island. The list was presented to the Germans by Bishop Chrysostomos only two names: Mayor Carrer and Bishop Chrysostomos. The Bishop bravely told the Germans, "Here are your Jews. If you choose to deport the Jews of Zakynthos, you must also take me and I will share their fate." There is evidence that Chrysostomos actually communicated with Hitler himself, to beg for the lives of the Jews on the island. Historians do know that a boat was never sent to deport the Jews of Zakynthos and that all the island’s Jews survived the Holocaust. After a major earthquake struck the island on 1953 the first boat to arrive with aid to the victims was from Israel, with a message that read, "The Jews of Zakynthos have never forgotten their Mayor or their beloved Bishop and what they did for us...." Bishop Chrysostomos refused to submit to the Germans a list of Zakynthos Jews. He initiated the evacuation of the Jews to the hills, and all Jews were saved. Bishop Chrysostomos was honored by Yad Vashem in 1978 as a "Righteous Among the Nations" for his rescue operation."
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum & The Simon Wiesenthal Center

"On September 20, 1943, Dieter Wisliceny -- a deputy of Adolph Eichmann, the administrator of the Nazi Final Solution -- arrived in Athens. Wisliceny ordered Chief Rabbi Elias Barzilai to appear before him, to provide accurate figures about the Jewish population in Athens and to create a Judernat. ... The Church of Greece, under Archbishop Damaskinos' leadership, condemned Hitler's plans for the country and instructed priests to announce its position in their sermons. ... When all official appeals to stop the deportations failed, Archbishop Damaskinos spearheaded a direct appeal to the Germans, in the form of a letter composed by the famous Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos and signed by prominent Greek citizens, in a bold attempt to appeal to the hearts and minds of the occupying authorities, in defense of the Jews who were being persecuted. The letter incited the rage of the Nazi general Stroop, who threatened the Archbishop with death by a firing squad. Damaskinos' response was, "According to the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church, our prelates are hung and not shot. Please respect our traditions!" The appeal of the Archbishop and his fellow Greeks is unique; there is no similar document of protest of the Nazis during World War II that has come to light in any other European country. It reads, in part..(Anyone interested in reading the full letter, go to the link below): ~ The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation

Thank you, Israel. :-)

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