Zvi Lavi
01.26.10, 13:14
Chairman of inter-ministerial committee for earthquake preparation says in special Knesset debate that Israel isn’t prepared for earthquakes due to ongoing building failures. More . . .
Jan 26, 2010 10:08
Last night, two weeks after the IDF rushed to Haiti with hundreds of doctors to help treat those wounded in the devastating earthquake, the field hospital which it had opened – and which came to symbolize the exceptional Israeli rescue effort – finally closed its doors.
As of Monday, 1,102 Haitians had been treated at the facility. Among that number, 13 women gave birth naturally, three babies were delivered using Caesarian sections, and 314 operations were performed. More . . .
By Amos Harel
26/01/2010
The Israel Defense Forces team in Haiti is finishing up its mission and will return home on Thursday. The decision was based on the recommendation of the Home Front Command, whose senior officers feel hey have fulfilled their role in helping the earthquake victims. In view of the large number of personnel and resources the command is deploying in Haiti and the U.S., it is believed the time has come to wrap up the mission. More . . .
By Jonathan Lis
26/01/2010
An earthquake of the same magnitude as the one two weeks ago in Haiti or stronger is certain to strike Israel, Avi Shapira, chairman of the National Earthquake Preparedness Committee, said on Tuesday.
“I just returned from Haiti,” Shapira told a special Knesset committee that gathered in the wake of the Haiti disaster to discuss Israel’s readiness to deal with earthquakes. “What happened there will also happen here.” More . . .
By Asaf Shariv
January 24, 2010
NEW YORK (JTA) — The terrible disaster in Haiti has shown the world not only the power of Mother Nature but the power of the human heart. All over the world, aid has been pouring in to rescue trapped survivors and provide medial services to the hundreds of thousands of victims. Read more . . .
U.N spokesperson in Haiti commends Israeli team on a “magnificant job”.Watch at MINUSTAH
(CBS/ AP) After being trapped in rubble for nearly 10 days, an Israeli Search and Rescue team saved a 22-year-old Haitian man from a collapsed three-story building. The man was transferred to an Israeli Defense Field Hospital and is in stable condition. More and video.
To my friends at the JCRC:
I know that you have heard this before, and the papers have lots of stories, but I thought you would be interested in this e-mail that I received from African-American and Haitian friends. None of this amazing work by the Israelis is surprising to anyone who knows them, but I am glad that the rest of the world is finding out.
Best, Gale
From:
To:
Subject: Brief update on medical aid coordination in Haiti
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:56:40 -0500
Dear M__,
There is currently a lack of coordination of the aid sitting at the airport and not getting to the residents. The US leadership must coordinate with Haitian Physicians on the ground whom know the facilities to distribute medical supplies. The military must use their truck to disbribute aid and transport medical supplies, not just armed military all over. U.S. air traffic controllers in charge of the Aeroport International Toussaint Louverture are diverting aircraft carrying medical supplies and other humanitarian aid. U.S. military flights were getting top priority. About 200 flights a day are taking off and landing at the one-runway airport each day. With the seaport closed by earthquake damage, hundreds of tons of aid sit waiting at the airport, the only port of entry. U.S. military helicopters routinely load the cargo at a grassy landing zone between the runway and a crowded tarmac and airlift it to at least eight distribution points throughout the city. The military intends to open two other airports within the next two days, Allyn said Tuesday. One will be about 25 miles from Port-au-Prince, while the other will be in the adjacent to the Dominican republic. The U.S. military has 2,000 troops on the ground and will increase that level to 10,000 in the next few weeks, the general said. The military has distributed 400,000 bottles of water and 300,000 meals since the earthquake. But many aid workers — or those who would like to help find themselves increasingly frustrated. At Sylvio Cator Stadium, where hundreds of displaced Haitian families have set up camp, a team of Israeli doctors has treated about 500 patients in the past three days. The Israeli disaster relief doctors have electricity, imaging technology, icu, and neonatal incubators and and telemedicine capability on the ground. The world should take note of the impressive Israeli ability that should a model for disaster relief that should be followed in the future and in the reconstruction of Haiti. The Israeli effort is a welcomed contrast to their excessive military operations in Palestine in the past.
A purported audio tape of Osama bin Laden aired on Al Jazeera television claimed responsibility for a Dec. 25 attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound plane, and vowed to continue attacks on the United States, as long as it supports Israel. Read more. . .
