Fire in northern Israel prompt international reflection

Tessa NathFeature EditorWe’re young, we’re active, we’re aware—not really. We live in a relatively sheltered environment. Los Angeles is the city of fame, fortune, and self-preservation. As long as we’ve got our coffee in one hand and college pamphlets in the other, life seems perfect.Granted, it might be. We might all go off and live fabulous, enviable lives. But chances are, at some point we’ll have to break out of the bubble that is liberal, safe Santa Monica and start facing the realities of the outside world.One of these realities is natural disasters. The last natural disaster to hit Santa Monica was the Northridge Earthquake in 1994; most of us were one, maybe two years old at the most.And was it traumatic? Not really.But for people living in Haiti during the earthquake in January, or in Chile during the earthquake in February, or in Pakistan during the flood in July, or in Israel during the recent fire crisis, help from wealthy communities such as our own is vital.In Israel, the Carmel Mountains caught fire on Dec. 2. The fire destroyed four to five million trees, 8,000 acres, leaving almost 20,000 homeless and taking an estimated 42 lives in the process. Firefighters worked night and day to put out the fire; however, despite their efforts, the flames fed on the dry brush of the mountains overlooking Haifa, raging on for four more days. Israel even called in international aid, personnel and equipment which the U.S., Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Russia, Bulgaria, Britain, Spain, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Romania, and other countries quickly provided.Finally, Dec. 6, rain poured down on Israel after nine long, dry months, extinguishing most of the fire. This Hanukkah miracle provided welcome relief for the fire fighters working overtime to combat the flames.Besides from being the greatest natural disaster in Israel’s history, the Carmel Mountain fires alerted the world to Israel’s immense vulnerability."This fire revealed sheer helplessness on Israel's part, in its internal arena, to face a natural disaster that could occur at any time – whether as a result of arson by an unstable person or the explosion of a missile or rocket like those fired from Gaza," Mustafa al-Sawaf of the Palestinian Daily Palestine, associated with Hamas, wrote.He went on to express his joy that “the defeat of Israel is possible and simple.”Now Israel faces a heightened crisis of survival. This fire has demonstrated their immense weaknesses, especially if Islamic terrorists were to fire missiles into the dry regions of Israel.“If the firefighting services don't receive resources, [in the future] the damage and civilian suffering will be greater," Lieutenant-Colonel Shavit Zalmi, who commands firefighters in the north, said.The Carmel Mountains used to be one of Israel’s hiking trails, a peaceful quiet atmosphere where Israelis could reconnect with nature. The shock of recent events is unnatural. There was never any hustle or bustle in Carmel — all was quiet as befitting an oasis in a desert. Now the Carmel Mountains stand barren and desolate, a testimony to the battle between life and death that Israel wages every day.We, as healthy, active, able Americans need to lend our support to countries like Israel who would otherwise stand helpless without us.We might be content in our own lives, but as young adults we need to be more aware of the misfortunes of those around us. Think about it—if we lost our homes in a fire and had no place to go, we’d want someone to care about us, too.In honor of the 18 nations that came to Israel’s aid, Israel planted 18 sapling trees in the destroyed regions. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told the hundreds of foreign firefighters December 8 that “this was the most devastating fire in the history of Israel, and your help shows the strength of the human spirit. These trees represent the roots all of you have now in Israel.”

Ways to Help:

1.   A donation to the Jewish Federation wildfire fund at http://www.jewishla.org/israelwildfires or by calling 323.761.8413, or by mail to The Jewish Federation - Israel Wildfire Relief Fund, 6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Ste. 1000, Los Angeles, CA. 90048. 100 percent of collected donations will go directly to help the victims and their families.2.   A donation to the Jewish National Fund to arm the firefighters with the protective gear and equipment they need at  www.jnf.org/fifdonate.3.   To replenish trees in Israel's Forests, donate $10 by texting JNF to 20222 from your cell phone.4.   To give through American Zionist Organization http://www.azm.org/fire-relieftnath@thesamohi.com