Israeli NGOs look to help Iran quake victims

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1072420674113

The Foreign Ministry announced Friday that Israeli non-governmental organizations are "looking into offering their help" victims of the catastrophic earthquake in southeastern Iran.

The Iranian Interior Ministry said it wants help from any country in the world - except Israel.

The 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck about 5:30 a.m., local time, collapsing buildings in the city of Bam in southeastern Iran, severing power lines and shutting down water service. As of Saturday morning, the Iranian government put the death toll at over 20,000.

Israel regards Iran as its greatest external security threat, and Iran has recently threatened Israel with missile attack if the latter attacked Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iran has appealed for international aid.

"We need sniffer dogs and detection equipment, blankets, medicines, food, but also prefabricated houses because winter is coming very quickly," an interior ministry statement said.

.......................................................

"except israel"....must be tough to live with such hate.

Israel has some experience from the 2 earthquakes
in turkey.

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where did I say that??

Iran because of the nuclear facilities? There was a thread about it a few days ago...

The looney leaders of Iran can't be allowed to get nuclear weapons. Israel can't risk it.

no problem.

only because Sharon feels so...

they have all but said they would threaten israel
with nukes....yes.

we can go over this again, but wouldnt you rather
discuss the tragic earthquake and the fact that
they accept all help....except israels.

Yr damn right that the earthquake was tragic, but to be blunt, I don't think the survivors are going to give a shit where the aid comes from, as long as they get some help. And I think some people need to stop and remember that the victims out of this are the more than 20,000 Iranians who've died. When you look at it the way everyone should be, the fart-arsing around, beating of chests, and posturing of various govts (btw, Israeli NGO's are NOT the Israeli govt, don) is just a really sad joke as far as I'm concerned...

Violet...

apparently iran "gives a shit" !!

it appears you didnt read the article.

"The Iranian Interior Ministry said it wants help from any country in the world - except Israel."

why is that??

And the survivors are the ones who wouldn't give a shit....

It appears you didn't read my post.

An earthquake kills over 20,000 Iranians and all you can think about is Israel?? What the hell do you want done, don? The international community to boycott giving any aid?? And did I miss the bit where the GOI actually offered any help? I may have since I don't read JPost articles given it's stupid registration requirement...

Violet...

there really isnt' much to be said... SPOT ON

Clearly is the one that brought Israel into this. They made it clear they don't want ANY Israeli help -- governmental or non. So, no matter what the victims might want, Israel's NGO can't go in and help for fear of being harmed.

As to why Israel should help, well it shouldn't. This is a tragedy and the victims are ordinary folks that you find in any nation. But this happens to be a nation where the leaders support terror against Israel and are trying to build nukes. That is NOT a recipe for being a friendly nation and unfriendly nations should NOT receive aid of any sort.

so you're all for collective punishment hey? If an African nation is starving and they have a dictator that most people don't even support, they should all just starve without getting aid. I must say I am surprised that such words are coming from a supposed progressive. Or some are not what they seem to be sadly...

I am not calling to punish those nations, i.e. go out of our way to do them harm. I am saying we should not go out of our way to help Iran, which would not go out of its way to help us.

What I am saying and have said repeatedly, our aid and assistance is finite. It should go to nations that do not support terror or take actions against us.

and are ready to help those needed since they're more humanist then some others...regardless of who's the recipient (Arab or not).

And if Iran turns around and does something horrible to them, it will be their right to feel foolish.

In fact Israel has experience in search and rescue not only from the quakes in Turkey, but also the quakes in India, Mexico City, and Los Angeles, as well as the hurricane disaster in Mozambique. The expertise for helping victims of bombed buildings has similarities. Indeed, Iran could profit from the help of this nearby neighbor. Unfortunately, without the government's permission, no assistance can be accepted.

n/t

Muddle is not, and never was, for "collective punishment." He was merely stating that it's a shame that the radical Iranian government puts their hatred for Israel above saving the lives of their own citizens.

In the world we live in actions have consequences. Bad actions, bad consequences. If Iran wishes to promote terror, then its citizens need to see the day-to-day impact of that strategy.

The upshot of this is that there are numerous nations that do NOT promote terror. Given that all aid is limited, I would rather it go elsewhere -- like Africa for instance.

"An earthquake kills over 20,000 Iranians and all you can think about is Israel??"
nooo, i want them to get ALL the help they can.



" What the hell do you want done, don? The international community to boycott giving any aid??"
where tf did that come from?? :shrug:




"And did I miss the bit where the GOI actually offered any help?"

i'm sure they would have had they not been told they were
"persona non grata".

why all the anger, Violet?? :shrug:

Israel's government has a long history of aid to victims of natural disasters no matter what the country. Including aid to many arab and moslem states.

This, however, is a case where Iran, apparently, cares more about scoring debating point than over the lives of their own people.

I'll be happy to go on the record in saying that I strongly oppose any right-wing theocracy getting their hands on nuclear weapons.

Do you actually support these right-wing nuts getting more weapons?

A reasonable person can distinguish between extending humanitarian help in a time of dire need while still threating to strike a nuclear target. After all, as the article said, Israel's problem is with the radical government of Iran, not the Iranian people.

impacts the Iranian people with severe consequences...

RADIATION? Something like Chernobyl maybe...

...destroying a nuclear facility doesn't necessarily mean a mushroom cloud. There are many ways to strike a nuclear target that doesn't involve the release of radiation.

and not build them in the first place.

Though I got a feeling that removing *ALL* nukes from the ME is never the agenda.

ME nuclear disarmament? Not at all.

Two schools of thought - MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) where *all* parties have nukes, and the knowledge that any attack would lead to complete destruction anyway (the basis of US/USSR cold war policy for over 25 years).

Other school of thought - nobody has them so quite simply, nukes aren't available.

Recipe for disaster - only one party has 'em.

Bigger recipe for disaster - country that has nukes, unilaterally attacking anyone else who trys to get them.

That is what you seem to be advocating.

Sharon's da man, workin' his plan...to make the world a safer place. :thumbsup:

a Sharon supporter hey?

the Israelis will kick him out and elect a Labor guy in his place.

No nuclear disaster so far.

Alas, even with MAD, the assumption was that the other side would not try and blow up the world. Based on the actions of the terrorists in the Mideast, there is no such guarantee.

diplomatic relations between Iran and Israel are at a state where assistance is not possible.

This is a tremendous human tragedy. The entire population must be traumatized.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/376370.html

"Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, a spokesman for Iran's Interior Ministry, said Saturday that Iran would accept aid from all countries of the world, aside from Israel. The announcement followed statements by foreign correspondents in Jerusalem, who reported that the Foreign Ministry had said that unofficial Israeli sources were considering sending aid to Iran. "The Islamic Republic of Iran accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organizations with the exception of the Zionist regime ," Khanjani said."

the guy cant, even in the face of tragedy, say the word *ISRAEL*.

The hatred is palpable.

doing a true disservice to their own people, in not accepting aid from Israel.

Catalclysmic events like this *should* bring people and cultures together in common rescue and humanitarian aid efforts, but eons of blind hatred can't stop raising its ugly head.

Truly a shame.

Anger is rising against the Islamic republic regime following the deadly quake which jolt the historic southeastern City of Bam. Many Iranians are already blaming the regime for the lack of appropriate help and as the cold wave is expected to take more lives in the region with the start of night fall.

The few choppers, planes and tractors sent to the area, cut from neighboring cities, are judged to be unsufficient for the heavy task of rescuing thousands of wounded and many missing residents which have been trapped under the ruins or to transfer those laying in the streets to medical facilities.

...

Many Iranians are remembering the fraud which followed the Roodbar earth quake of the last decade and how most foreign aids were stolen by officials in order to be sold on the black market. Indeed, many of the materials sent especially by the US, such as, medicines and tents were seen later as being sold in Tehran's streets while thousands died due to lack of the same necessary materials in the Roodbar region.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/smccdinews/article/publish/article_4072.shtml

Such bigots and lunatics cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons.

I'm surprised the Iranian government isn't running to the UN asking for a resolution condemening Israel for causing the quake.

The government of Iran is putting its hatred of Israel above the care of its own people.

They should feel very proud of themselves right now.

.

The Iranian government would appartently just as soon let of their own people be buried and killed under rubble Israeli specialists can remove than accept the help of the "Zionist Regime".

The refusal of help from those who are able and willing is the second tragedy to befall the people of Bam this week.

They didn't have weeks of planning to get Arafat's mother-in-law's PR firm to get the spin prepared. Just sloppy of them.

Of course it could be something else, but ..

given the countries being allowed in. The nuclear program in Iran is supposedly dispersed throughout the country, unlike the Iraqi attempt. That has been perceived as the greatest impediment to a tactical strike.

Back to the topic though, I wounder if the Iranian government could guarantee the safety of Israeli rescuers?

On Edit: Spellchecker is great only when you put the right word in to start with. :dunce:

The Iranian government doesn't like the image of Israeli or Jewish rescuers. Hate helps keep many of these nasty Arab (or quasi Arab in Iran) states going. If the people actually realized they had no reason to hate Israelis, watch out.

as a former Israeli ally that turned to blaming Israel and the US (usually said as one word Israel-and-the-US) for all their problems after being taken over by right-wing religious fanatics, it's critical to treat infidel Israel as a lesser people to justify the theocracy's continuing rule.

Give Iran a real democracy and about 20 years to unlearn their neo-history and they'll probably be the light of the region but that may not be in the cards.

seems to skip the part where there was a democracy, which was brought to an end by assassinating the elected Iranian president and installing the Shah in a CIA-backed coup. The "right-wing religious fanatics" are what rode a wave of people power into power when Iran finally threw off the murderous, corrupt Shah. They didn't just appear one day out of the blue.

Blowback is a bitch.

The whole point of secret nuke facilities is nobody is sure
where they are.

Your point about the security of the rescuers is well taken.

It could also be more trouble than it's worth, given that
you have plenty of other help. And I think the consensus
opinion here that the Ayatollahs prefer not to take help from
the "zionist entity" works too.

I suppose one could ask whether there is any special expertise
to be had from these NGO's that cannot be obtained elsewhere.

And one has to wonder what the Israeli reaction to earthquake help
from Iranian NGOs would be?

The other post about the Iranian publics dislike of the corruptness
and ineptness of the Ayatollahs seems interesting too, but it's hard
to know how much credence to give it.

...

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom issued a statement following the earthquake, saying, "The Israeli people and government send their condolences to the Iranian people. The government and people of Israel feel the pain of this human tragedy facing the Iranian people, and despite all the differences of opinion, at these moments a mobilization of the entire international community is needed to help the injured and the families of the victims."

Large-scale Israeli assistance following a massive earthquake in 1999 in northwestern Turkey that killed over 15,000 people, and a huge earthquake in western India in 2001 that killed some 20,000 people, helped strengthen ties between Israel and those two countries.

In 1999 Israel airlifted to Turkey doctors and equipment for a field hospital, as well an emergency rescue team comprising 250 persons, sophisticated rescue equipment, and rescue dogs.

And in 2001, Israel dispatched a field hospital and some 150 people to India to assist in rescue and medical efforts following the earthquake in Bhuj. The help Israel provided in these cases is still mentioned often by Turkish and Indian officials when discussing their ties with Israel.

...

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1072420674113&p=1008596981749

...after 9/11, the Bush administration rejected offers of humanitarian aid from Cuba.

Just idiotic.

Since Iran and Bush both did it, I'd say that's pretty good evidence.

An Israeli humanitarian aid group is determined to send help to earthquake-stricken Iran despite an Iranian government statement that the Islamic republic would accept help from everywhere in the world but Israel.

...

A U.S. Air National Guard C-130 Hercules landed in the regional capital of Kerman on Sunday, delivering 20 pallets of humanitarian aid and another five pallets of medical supplies, surgical equipment, food and purified water.
The flight was the first American plane to land in Iran since the end of the 1981 hostage crisis. Washington severed ties with Tehran over that crisis, when militants seized the U.S. Embassy there and took staff members hostage in 1979.

...

Jenny Perelis-Barak said that the apparent Iranian rejection would not stop the Israeli humanitarian aid organization Latet from searching for ways to send aid to the Iranians.
Latet is still checking what kind of aid is most needed and whether or not the group could send a delegation to Iran or just send supplies through another organization, said Perelis-Barak, communications and media director.

...

Since Latet was founded in 1996, the organization whose name is the Hebrew word for "to give" has sent 17 delegations to help with humanitarian needs in disasters in such places as Turkey, India, the Congo and Malawi, Perelis-Barak said.

...

Nevertheless, Latet is still checking to see if the aid would be accepted and not stopped along the way, in which case the organization would abandon the project, Perelis-Barak said. "It seems from our sources they do want it," she added.
Iranian expert Menashe Amir, who heads Israel Radio's Farsi (Persian) language radio service, which broadcasts daily news into Iran, said he had "no doubt" that the Iranian people would themselves accept aid from Israel.
During the phone-in section of his program on Sunday, Amir said he received calls from Iranians responding positively to the Israeli offer of help.
"Most of the people who talked in the program thanked Israel warmly for offering help and criticized harshly the Iranian regime for refusing it," Amir said.
Some of the callers to the radio program, Amir said, told listeners not to send money to Iran because it is a rich country and the money would not make it to the people but could instead be funneled into the Palestinian militant cause.


http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=%5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200312%5CFOR20031229d.html

sad and inspiring at the same time.

The Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday managed to get to Bam, three days after the earthquake which may have killed 30,000 of his fellow Iranians. The president, Mohammad Khatami, followed soon afterwards. Khamenei had words of dubious comfort for survivors when he told them that "we will rebuild Bam stronger than before". Given the collapse of 80% of the buildings, from the old fortress to the new hospitals, the Iranian government could hardly make the new Bam as weak as the old one.

Some will see this as simply a natural disaster of the kind to which Iran, according to Khatami, is "prone". Four days earlier, however, there had been another earthquake of about the same intensity, this time in California. In which about 0.000001% of the buildings suffered serious structural damage and two people were killed when an old clocktower collapsed. So why the polar disparity between Bam and Paso Robles?

This is not a silly question. True, the Californians are much richer than the Iranians. But if you believed everything you read in the works of M Moore and others, you would anticipate a culture of corporate greed in which safety and regulation came way behind the desire to turn the quick buck. Instead you discover a society in which the protection of citizens from falling masonry seems to be regarded as enormously important.

Whereas in Iran - for all its spiritual solidarity - the authorities don't appear to give a toss. The report in this paper from Teheran yesterday was revealing. It was one thing for the old, mud-walled citadel to fall down, but why the new hospitals? An accountant waiting to give blood at a clinic in the capital told our correspondent that it was a "disgrace that a rich country like ours with all the revenue from oil and other natural resources is not prepared to deal with an earthquake".

...

So why, despite the loss of 40,000 lives in the Gilan earthquake of 1990, had nothing been done? The same question was being asked back in the queue outside the clinic. Fariba Hemati told the Guardian what she thought of official efforts, "Our government is only preoccupied with slogans: 'Death to America', 'Death to Israel', 'Death to this and that'. We have had three major earthquakes in the past three decades. Thousands of people have died but nothing has been done. Why?"

As she was queueing Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, spokesman for Iran's interior ministry, was denying that a team from Israel was coming to help. "The Islamic Republic of Iran," he told the press, "accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organisations, with the exception of the Zionist regime." The Israelis, of course, have some reputation for rescue work, but it was ideology rather than humanity that was at stake here.

...

What, I wonder, has Arundhati Roy to say now about the superiority of traditional building methods over globalised ones? Some Iranians might think that it's a shame there wasn't a McDonald's in Bam. It would have been the safest place in town.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1113895,00.html

they know buildings will not withstand them, they have the resources to do something about this yet they do nothing. They are criminally negligent and responsible for all these casualties. It is even more of a crime to refuse humanitarian assistance.

usually results in zero progress, regardless the intent.

the next time a bunch of Israeli civilians are killed and you feel like making comments about it.

traumatized mullahs does not wrench the heart in quite the same way...

those genuinely interested in discussion.

like any good sword, has 2 edges.

It is the duty and responsibility of government to identify potential earthquake hazard, establish appropriate standards and codes of seismic structural design, and in the case where the people do not have the resources to build according to that standard, ..... it is the government's responsibility and duty to secure and distribute financial resources, technical information and expertise.

Disasters such as this do not just happen, they happen through the criminal negligence of the government, it's officials, representatives and employees. Anyone who thinks a disaster of this proportion or of any proportion is not from government malfeasance, would have to be a republican. And I know you are NOT a republican.

Another perfect example of "religious" hypocrites.
In Tehran anyone caught owning a dog is arrested and the dog is killed. Reformist Iranians keep small dogs in their apartments as a protest against the religious maniacs.
A mullah in Iran recently called for even more brutal punishment to be meted out against dog owners.
And now they call on the world to send in sniffer dogs? What total bullsh!t.

From Irandogs:

"It is very difficult to receive accurate information about what is going on with dogs in Iran today. The Islamic Republic of Iran has many harsh laws against dogs and they kill thousands of dogs routinely. Because of the harsh attitudes of the Islamic regime towards dogs, the two organizations that are working for animal rights in Iran are not able to function."

are dirty, but many modern ones like dogs. My sister and her Muslim husband have several.

It's wrong to refuse help when it's offered, but I think Iran worries about spies. Even NGOs can be ordered to take a few spies with them. Secondly, they have the attitude that it's all Allah's will.