Posted on 12/30/2004 8:40:12 AM PST by Piranha
So apparently, people who write for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano have limited reading comprehension skills. They're claiming Israel refused to help Sri Lanka.
The Vatican newspaper has denounced a decision by the Israeli army to deny emergency help to disaster victims in Sri Lanka.
Calling for "a radical and dramatic change of perspective" among people "too often preoccupied with making war," L'Osservatore Romano singled out Israeli military leaders for declining a request for emergency medical help. The Vatican paper observed that in what "should be a time for unconditional solidarity," some world leaders seem incapable of escaping a "small-minded approach that restricts their horizons."
Here's the problem. That isn't what happened. Sri Lanka refused to allow the Israel delegation in.
Contrary to the Vatican report, an Israeli plane carrying 80 tons of food and medical supplies worth $100,000 was set to depart for Sri Lanka Wednesday morning. At the request of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry, a team of some 150 Israeli medical and security personnel aborted their planned trip to the island nation Tuesday night.
The Vatican paper observed that in what "should be a time for unconditional solidarity," some world leaders seem incapable of escaping a "small-minded approach that restricts their horizons."
The fact that the devastation swept across different societies, cultures, and nations should help to reinforce the universal perspective, the paper suggested.
Ha'aretz has more:
A 150-member Israeli aid delegation canceled its mission to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, after the country - one of the hardest hit in the Asian tsunami disaster - apparently refused to accept the Israeli team, Israel Defense Forces officials said.
However, the Sri Lankan president's military secretary sent a notice to the country's foreign and defense ministries Tuesday expressing support for the arrival of a 50-member Israeli delegation.
"We are not opposed to a plane loaded with medical supplies, food and blankets that will be accompanied by a medical team comprised of 50 IDF people, as the Israeli Foreign Ministry requested in a letter," the military secretary said in the notice.
Hell, even the BBC got the story right:
Israel has cancelled plans to send a 150-person rescue mission to Sri Lanka after the devastated island objected to the military composition of the team.
One would have to say, WTF is wrong with the Vatican, using this to beat up on Israel?
Nice to know that the Vatican is interested in keeping those good relations with Israel going. Perhaps the Rabbi spoke too soon, hm, Tom?
Here's more, from Little Green Footballs (which is where I found the reference to Yourish)
Here’s an important story that’s gone almost completely unreported (or worse, misreported): Israeli Tsunami Aid.
When disaster strikes anywhere in the world, Israelis can be counted on to help. So it’s no surprise that within hours of the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the following humanitarian missions all departed from the tiny Jewish state:
* The Israeli organization Latet (’To Give’) filled a jumbo jet with 18 tons of supplies.
* A medical team headed by four doctors from Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday night (Dec. 27), carrying medicine and baby food. The doctors specialize in rescue operations, trauma and pediatrics.
* An IDF rescue team is now on its way to Sri Lanka with 80 tons of aid material, including 10,000 blankets, tents, nylon sheeting and water containers, all contributed by the IDF.
* A ZAKA rescue-and-recovery team arrived in the disaster areas Monday night, armed with its specialized equipment for identifying bodies.
* A Health Ministry contingent left for Thailand on Monday night to aid in rescue efforts. The group includes doctors, nurses and four members of the IDF.
* Israel has also offered its assistance to India — a search-and-rescue team from the Home Front Command, as well as consignments of food and medicine.
Yet, with the exception of UPI (as of this writing - Tues. 4pm EST), none of the major news outlets have dedicated an article to this remarkable Israeli humanitarian effort. This, despite the fact that the IDF sent all Israel-based journalists a press release Monday evening (Dec. 27), inviting them to the airport to cover the departure of one IDF group.
The leftist have been in control of the Vatican for a long time, time for a change.
Interestingly, with literally thousands of Israelis on vacations in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand (per reports from the first day after the disaster), the number of Israeli missing at this time is approximately 10.
If a disaster ever strikes near me, and resourcefulness is required to save my life, I want to be with a group of Israelis.
It's long past time for Karol Wojtyla (the pope) and Joe Paterno to have left the stage. - tom
This disgusting article threatens to undo years of progess between the Vatican and Israel. Rome must make an example of someone at that paper, and soon.
Oh come on!
You know the Israelis are just as 'stingy' as the U.S. when it comes to sending relief help! /sarcasm off
Ah!
That's because the Israeli's were 'warned' prior to the Tsunami, just like on 9/11! /sarcasm off
Vatican poltics are divided just like the US Senate. The MSM take every opportunity to use quotes from any pencil pushing priest or a bishop that "works" at the Vatican to mean that their comments seem to be the very thoughts of the Pope. It is not so. Please research Pope John Paul II himself and see what friendships he's had as a young Pole. Please dig deeper than what the MSM wants you to believe.
Recall that the MSM only seeks liberal bishops and ex-priests to give a "Catholic" perspective of issues. The MSM doesn't care for obedient Catholics' opinions and they have absolutely no interest in what the Pope has to say.
Given the rather consent terror, etc in their own homeland, Israelis, as a group, are generally conditioned to being much more aware of their surroundings, what's going on - escape routes, etc.
Just after 9/11 many Americans were the same way - but that quickly faded.
ping
The Yourish website has lots more on Israeli help for Tsunami victims. It also reports on the Lubovitchers (a religious Jewish organization) Thailand operations converting its three facilities into crisis centers, where anyone can come and seek assistance (excerpt follows):
Dear Friends,
Following the earthquake and tsunami that have destroyed hundreds of seaside towns in Asia leaving thousands dead, relatives of those touring Thailand are eager to hear about their loved ones (Southeast Asia is a key destination for thousands of Israeli backpackers who go there to relax after completing reserve duty in the Israeli Army). Chabad of Thailand headed by Rabbi Yosef C. Kantor, has responded to the crisis by dispatching Rabbi Nehemya Wilhelm to the scene of the tragedy in Phuket and turning the three Chabad Centers in Thailand into crisis centers where survivors can come and place phone calls home, or try to find their friends as of yet unaccounted for.
As Chabad of Thailand is the only Jewish service agency in the country dealing with this catastrophe, Chabad's offices and staff in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ko Samui have put everything else aside, working 24/7 to assist those in need and comfort.
Chabad volunteers are standing by at the local hospitals to visit the injured and provide them with food and any other help needed. The Chabad Rabbi's and their wives are also counseling the survivors who are in a state of emotional trauma.
With the help of an Israeli telecommunications company there are free international phone calls being offered to those who wish to call home and inform their loved ones of their whereabouts. The free Internet service available at the Chabad centers is functioning as usual.
As the initial efforts of search and rescue wind down the grim work of identifying bodies and counseling bereaved families will keep the Chabad staff fully occupied in the immediate future.
The Vatican should stick with religion and stay out of government affairs. They have enough problems with the Church without looking for problems with nations.
Leftest control seeps into all old, well-established, organizations --- governments, charaties, businesses, churchs, the military (at peace time) and even nations.
Periodic revolutions and disasters are good.
My wife always looks at me funny when I say the Black Plague is why Europeans came to dominate the world --- it destroyed the status quo while leaving the infrastructure relatively intact.
You are right... In 1981 there was a massacre at the university of Montreal. A crazy arab (yes, even then) killed a number of women in the engineering school because according to him women ruined his life... At one point he asked men to leave the amphitheater and they did, without trying anything... My husband, a veteran of the IDF remarked that he couldn't understand this... He would have tried something the moment the guy told to leave... In the army, you learn that in some situations, first you act, then you think!
In a hyper-sensitive world people are offended if you breathe in their direction.
This was posted a couple of times already. Got ugly, too.
Yeah. They said they'd take the money and supplies, but leave your people at home, thank you very much. I wonder, how much is the Vatican giving for the relief, other than useless platitudes about universal love and compassion? Don't they have thousands of people dedicated to charity work? Where are they?
Hats off to the Israelis for demonstating, once again, their compassion and humanity. Of all countries in the world, Israel has every right to say "too bad, we have our own problems. But what do they do? They had money, supplies and expert personnel on the ground within hours. We can't even get it together to send a freakin' Recon team to scope things out before sending aid. It makes me want to scream, how impotant and incompetent our government is.
IIRC, Israel wanted to help Iran when Bam was destroyed 1 year ago, but were turned down.
Yeah. They're used to dealing with floods. I heard they even have a manual for it. Hee hee.
The best part of it was that the only L'Osservatore Romano article anyone could come up with addressing the topic was castigating the Sri Lankan Government for being paranoid.
But facts are of no importance when that dreadful foreign potentate in a tiara can be bashed ...
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