I keep hearing this phrase: “When the tallest mountain trembles, the smallest mountain comes to help.”
As if the friendship between the people of Nepal and the people of Israel was not already so strong. Now it will be stronger.
Israelis are no strangers to Nepal. As has become the ritual over the past decades, many IDF soldiers travel to Nepal and India upon termination of their service.
Israel is dotted with restaurants, clothes shops and more, in the Nepalese and Indian style. The biggest Passover seder in the world is hosted by Chabad for the many thousands of young Israeli travelers far from home, traveling in Kathmandu.
And now Kathmandu is in trouble, lying in utter devastation and desperation, after being struck by the force of an earthquake and countless aftershocks.
The photos alone break the heart.
I feel so proud of Israel, such a tiny country with such a huge heart. It never ceases to amaze me what such a small country can do for the world.
Of all the countries, Israel is so tiny — the size of New Jersey, yet her delegation is the largest.
I came across a video of the Nepal-bound IF medics. The field hospital commander, Col. Dr. Tarif Bader, was giving his 260 soldiers a pep talk before boarding the plane whose tail is painted with the navy blue stripes and Star of David, loaded with emergency supplies:
“We are prepared for anything. We leave here strong, full of motivation and with pride to do the job. Currently, the only hospital over there — functioning independently — is ours. Ours is the main hospital there, and anyone who is able to contribute, will do so. We will run into problems, dilemmas and challenges, but they will be met and we will improvise solutions. In that spirit I wish all of us good luck. We will do this. And we will do it with dignity and we will do it successfully.”
Again, Israel is saving lives, the first to be there to help in an international disaster and crisis.
Tikkun olam in its fiercest definition.
Of course, Israel is not alone. It is heartening to see so many countries around the world dropping everything to help.
In the final analysis, with all of our differences, we are all part of the human community, all equally vulnerable to the peaks and valleys of nature. And so, instinctively, we stand with each other in such moments. Like so many did for Israel when the Carmel Forest burned.
Granted, through this disaster, a dark, disturbing and complex story has been revealed, too — the gestational dormitories and baby factories. The whole industry of women in Third World countries being used as surrogates. I don’t yet know enough about it to comment. But it has opened my eyes.
Even so, I have to admit that I feel a particular pride in Israel’s quick initiative and expertise in honing the craft of aiding others in their hour of need. I witness the hybrid of compassion and skill, blooming deep from the well of Jewish values.
Israel haters out there are having conniptions. People are simply so blinded by their hate. The head of Human Rights Watch is criticizing Israel and linking its emergency rescue mission to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I understand that this is so ridiculous it is not even worthy of a response. And I know that had Israel not sent help, these people would have inveighed against Israel, too. Like I said, hate. But it still bothers me.
Really? You stand for human rights? A people is stricken through no fault of their own, a country organizes quickly in order to send assistance to a people suffering an emergency, and you can’t set aside the political situation or see the Israel through any prism other than the Palestinian conflict?
I will grant those who are criticizing Israel one thing. Yes, indeed, there is one connection between Israel’s all too successful emergency rescue missions and the Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, due to the terrorism and violence mounted against Israel, it has learned to become the world’s expert at emergency medicine because it values life above all else.
Even when it is the smallest mountain traveling to the biggest mountain.
I pray for the people of Nepal.
Copyright © 2015 by the Intermountain Jewish News
