Israel and American Jewry Responds to Haitian Devastation

A 121-Member IDF Medical and Rescue Team has been deployed to Haiti to offer humanitarian services. The medical team is comprised of 40 doctors, including a psychiatrist; 20 nurses, 20 paramedics and medics; as well as 20 lab and x-ray technicians and administrators. An Israeli field hospital - described as the "Rolls Royce" of medical care in Haiti - has been established and has become the center for the most critically injured patients. It is treating as many as 500 patients per day. Another 100 Israelis have also arrived to offer assistance. 

So far, Israeli rescue workers have helped pull more than 70 people from the  rubble. On Sunday night, a resident of Port-au-Prince gave birth to a boy at the Israeli field hospital. In appreciation and gratitude, his mother decided to name her new son “Israel” in honor of the country that helped her.

Click on the following links to watch, hear and read news reports regarding Israel's incredible - and disproportionate - humanitarian response.

>>"No One Except the Israeli Hospital Has Taken Any of Our Patients" (CNN)
>>Israeli Hospital to End Operations in Haiti
>>JDC's Blog About Humanitarian Efforts in Haiti (JDC) 
>>Israeli IDF Hospital: The "Rolls Royce" of Medicine in Haiti (CBS News)
>>Israelis Save Trapped Earthquake Victim (BBC News/YouTube)
>>A Day with the Israeli Search Team (Sky News-UK)
>>Israel Aid To Haiti - Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The American Jewish community has also responded generously. Jewish Federations around the country have raised more than $2 million, mainly to support the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's (JDC) relief efforts. JDC is the official humanitarian assistance organization for the American Jewish community and is a valued overseas partner of the United Jewish Fund and Council of St. Paul and the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. 

>>Read about the work of the JDC and its relief efforts.