January 7, 2005/Tevet 26 5765, Vol. 57, No. 19
Jews raise tsunami aid
HANK NEYER
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 Israeli army officers hand over tsunami relief aid to Sri Lanka defense force officers on Dec. 29. Sri Lanka accepted the aid even though there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries. Photo courtesy of IDF/BP Images/JTA |
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Rabbi Robert Kravitz, executive director of the American Jewish Committee-Arizona, said "considering the weather and the short notice, the turnout was wonderful."
"People came in temperate and left uplifted, knowing that they were doing something to make themselves feel better, and also participating in the international effort to assist the survivors," said Kravitz.
The service was held at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Community, located on the campus of Brophy Xavier College Prep at Highland and Central avenues in Phoenix.
The rabbi said the service, which was coordinated by Dr. Paul Eppinger, executive director of the Arizona Interfaith Movement, included leaders from a variety of faiths - Buddhist, Baha'i, Mormon, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Christian Scientist, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim.
Eppinger told Jewish News that donations collected during the service totaled nearly $2,200.
Donations have also been coming into the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. As of Jan. 5, more than $18,000 had been raised, according to Executive Vice President Adam Schwartz. He said the federation expects to raise even more money locally for the victims of the tsunami.
Father Russell J. Roide, pastor of St. Francis Xavier, delivered the opening prayer, and Steven Berger, vice president of the local American Jewish Committee chapter, participated in a responsive recitation of scriptural readings.
Jewish participation in the local interfaith service was part of an outpouring of Jewish assistance to the victims of the deadly disaster Dec. 26 that has claimed in the neighborhood of 150,000 lives.
As part of its long-term relief efforts for victims, the American Jewish World Service is taking the adage "teach a man how to fish" quite literally.
The AJWS is working with its partner organizations in the region, including the Sanghamitra Service Society in Andhra Pradesh, India, which helps local fishing communities with sustainable development and disaster preparedness.
The philosophy behind the group's post-tsunami effort is the same as that behind general AJWS operations - long-term efforts through collaboration with groups in the region.
"We don't just go in and leave. We go in and we develop," said Ronni Strongin, a spokeswoman for AJWS, which already has raised more than $2 million in online contributions for tsunami victims.
The AJWS isn't alone in its approach: While not ignoring immediate needs, other Jewish groups also are planning aid that addresses the long-range needs of areas affected by the tsunami.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee has raised more than $1.7 million.
"Everybody comes in to provide emergency relief, and then they all leave and there's nobody left behind to help rebuild the infrastructure," said JDC's executive vice president, Steven Schwager. "While a portion of our money will go for short-term emergency relief, a larger part of our money will go for infrastructure to leave something behind that the Jewish community can get credit for."
That approach is likely to influence the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, an umbrella of North American Jewish organizations, expected to convene next week at the JDC's request.
The group provides a central address and decision-making process for disbursement of Jewish relief aid.
Until then, the JDC plans to allocate funds it has raised to local agencies on the ground like the International Rescue Committee in Indonesia. In India, it will send funds to the local Jewish community.
Nearly 40 Jewish federations are soliciting for funds for the tsunami victims - UJA Federation of New York has raised some $500,000 - and plan to donate the money directly to JDC, according to the United Jewish Communities, the coordinating body of the federation system. The JDC is an overseas partner of the federation system.
Like other groups collecting relief money, Jewish organizations report that donors have responded quickly.
"The response has been very good," said Kenneth Bandler, a spokesman for the American Jewish Committee, which has collected more than $200,000 so far.
For its part, the Union for Reform Judaism announced that it is donating $100,000 to organizations helping tsunami victims. Further allocations from the union's aid fund, which so far has taken in more than $300,000, will be made in coming weeks, the union announced.
Israel also is pitching in. The Israeli government sent aid to Thailand and Sri Lanka that included medicine, medical equipment, doctors, nurses and body bags.
In addition, volunteers with ZAKA, the Israeli organization that collects victims' body parts after terrorist attacks, have been identifying bodies in Thailand.
The aftermath of the disaster has allowed for a breakthrough of sorts for Israel's chief relief agency.
Magen David Adom officials have been involved in discussions with the International Red Cross on providing aid. That's a first for the Israeli group, according to Daniel Allen, executive vice president of American Red Magen David for Israel, which raises funds for the Israeli group.
The International Red Cross has excluded Magen David Adom from such discussions in the past, and has forced the Israeli group to wear different uniforms. But Magen David Adom intends to build a self-standing field clinic in the disaster zone, and this time its workers will be able to wear their uniforms, adorned with a red Jewish star, when they arrive in the region next week.
In addition to increased collaboration between the American Red Cross and its Israeli counterpart, and pressure by the American Red Cross on Israel's behalf, "no one was going to deny anybody the opportunity to help," Allen said.
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, also is soliciting funds to allow Hadassah medical staff in Israel to travel to the region to offer their services.
According to Jody Goldman, executive director of the Hadassah Valley of the Sun Chapter, the 2,500 members of the Maricopa County chapter have been asked to make their donations directly to the already established fund at www.hadassah.org.