IsraAID (The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid) is an Israel-based non-governmental organization that responds to emergencies all over the world with targeted humanitarian help.
This includes
disaster relief, from
search and rescue to rebuilding communities and schools, to providing aid packages, medical assistance, and post-
psychotrauma care.
IsraAID has also been involved in an increasing number of
international development projects with focuses on agriculture, medicine, and mental health.
Purpose
IsraAID was founded in 2001 by Mully Dor, and Shachar Zahavi with the purpose of bringing together Israeli and Jewish aid organizations with expertise in the fields required to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of a disaster.
[Bellehsen, Nitsan]
Saving lives in the wake of natural disasters
(17 February 2010), i
''Israel 21c Innovation News Service''
Retrieved 2010-03-04
The organization's stated goal is to "improve and expand international humanitarian assistance activities provided from Israel through cooperation between Israeli aid organizations."
Structure and funding
IsraAID was founded as an umbrella organization consisting of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and Israeli search and rescue, medical and relief groups that provide aid worldwide to people in need, regardless of race, religion, nationality or disability. Today, it is an independent humanitarian aid agency and has worked on emergency response and long-term development projects in more than 50 countries worldwide.
The group's CEOs are Yotm Polizer and Voni Glick, and its global chair is Meira Aboulafia.
IsraAID is privately funded by individual Israeli and North American donors.
Projects
2004 - In 2004 Israel sent 150 army doctors and search and rescue teams to
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
victims in
Sri Lanka, but since Sri Lanka declined that offer, Israel instead sent a smaller number of
IDF personnel along with an 82-ton planeload of relief supplies, including blankets, food, water, baby food and over nine tons of medicine. The relief effort was coordinated by IsraAID.
2005 - Israel provided tsunami crisis relief for Sri Lanka "spearheaded" by IsraAID. A humanitarian team of 14 medical and logistical personnel was sent to Sri Lanka to help those affected by the tsunami.
2007 - IsraAID sent six doctors and nurses to
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
to assist in rescue efforts and provide medical care after a major
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
.
2007 - Israeli volunteers went to a refugee camp on the
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
n-
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
n border to provide relief for
Muslim refugees in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. ''The Jerusalem AIDS Project'', an Israeli organization under the umbrella of IsraAID which promotes
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
education and prevention, distributed clothes for infants and toddlers. Later they would meet with IsraAID in order to purchase basic medical equipment.
2008 - B'nai B'rith International, one of the founding members of IsraAID and in partnership with IsraAID, provided thousands of meals to an estimated 35,000
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
war refugees.
2008 - Israeli aid teams went to
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
to help with recovery after a major
cyclone. According to the ''
Jerusalem Post'':
The IsraAID organization, which sends help to foreign countries in need, will be sending to Myanmar a highly trained search-and-rescue team and a 10-member team of doctors and nurses. The teams will bring with them crucial supplies, including plastic sheeting, food, household appliances and water filters.
2009 - IsraAID sent six volunteer doctors, nurses and paramedics to the Philippines to assist
Operation Blessing International
Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation (OB) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization founded in the United States. Beginning in 1978, OBI has worked in more than 90 countries and every state. Implementing p ...
after two devastating typhoons.
2010 - In response to the
earthquake in Haiti, IsraAID sent a 15-person search-and-rescue team, which includes emergency medical staff to
Haiti. The IsraAID team set up treatment rooms to treat the injured at the collapsed main hospital in Port-au-Prince, as well as outside the city in a makeshift clinic in a football stadium, and has helped coordinate relief supply logistics. In February, IsraAID opened a child education center in February in the
Pétion-Ville
Pétion-Ville ( ht, Petyonvil) is a commune and a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in the hills east and separate from the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. Founded in 1831 by president Jean-Pierre Boyer, it was named ...
refugee camp, the largest refugee camp in Port-au-Prince area, together with other agencies, such as
Operation Blessing. The center was set up initially in the tents from the
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
’s field hospital.
[Heyman, Jeffre]
''The resilience of the people is stronger than we expected''
, (10 February 2010), i
''Israel 21c Innovation News Service''
Retrieved 2010-02-11
2012 - In March 2012, IsraAID helped
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
set up its Ministry of Social Development to provide social services to the population after decades of war and hardship.
2014 - In July 2014, IsraAID sent a team to Washington State to help in the recovery effort after the
biggest wildfire in Washington State's history that consumed some 400 square miles and approximately 300 homes.
2016 - In August 2016, IsraAID sent a 20-member staff of search and rescue, relief and trauma specialists to the site of the
August 2016 Central Italy earthquake
An earthquake, measuring 6.2 ± 0.016 on the moment magnitude scale, hit Central Italy on 24 August 2016 at 03:36:32 CEST (01:36 UTC). Its epicentre was close to Accumoli, with its hypocentre at a depth of 4 ± 1 km, a ...
, becoming the only foreign aid organization on the ground.
2019 - In March 2019, IsraAID sent personnel to Mozambique to assist in the recovery from
Cyclone Idai
Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai () was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, lea ...
. Personnel were prepared to offer medical supplies, relief supplies, and psychological care to people affected by the storm. Personnel were also prepared to help restore access to safe water.
See also
*
Mashav
Mashav ( he, מש"ב, MASHAV) is the Hebrew acronym for the Agency for International Development Cooperation ( he, המרכז לשיתוף פעולה בינלאומי) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Mashav is responsible for the des ...
*
Heroes for life
Heroes for Life (in Hebrew: לוחמים ללא גבולות) is a non-governmental organization founded in 2013 by three officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who had served in the Duvdevan unit for eight years. They started a trip after per ...
References
External links
* {{official website, http://www.israaid.org
Charities based in Israel
Humanitarian aid organizations