Israel Update for December 2010

After it became embarrassingly clear that Israel's 11 firefighting aircraft were not nearly enough to successfully control the growing inferno, Prime Minister Netanyahu convened an early morning emergency cabinet meeting the second day of the blaze to discuss firefighting options with his government ministers. Realizing Israel could not put out the forest fire by itself, he then issued an unprecedented public plea for help from any country willing to send aid. Some twenty countries rapidly responded to the request, sending a total of 24 aircraft and hundreds of men. Despite severely strained diplomatic relations between Ankara and Jerusalem in the wake of last May's deadly military clash at sea, the participating countries included Turkey. Neighboring Greece also sent substantial aid, along with Jordan, Russia, the US, UK and Canada.

Suffering itself from frequent devastating summer forest fires, the government in Athens sent four aircraft, as did France. Three arrived from Great Britain, along with two each from Spain, Russia, Turkey, Cyprus, and Bulgaria. Single airplanes were sent by Croatia and Azerbaijan. A 747 American cargo jet flew out of New York City filled with fire retardants and firefighters from the state, along with experts serving with the US Forest Service. One of the planes sent by Moscow is thought to be the largest firefighting aircraft on earth.

PM Netanyahu profusely thanked and praised the countries that sent vital aid, with many of the aircraft scooping up water from the nearby Mediterranean Sea to dump on the spreading flames. He especially commended Greece and Turkey for their efforts, and also thanked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for sending a mixed Christian-Muslim firefighting team from the city of Bethlehem. The Palestinian squad's participation in the battle was welcome news in Israel, with several of the Arab men telling reporters that Israeli soldiers have helped them put out local fires in the past. Nearly 200 firefighters received Israeli Air Force medals at the end of the aid mission to honor their heroic efforts, with one IAF commander telling the honorees that 'Israel was met by a disaster, but you were there to prove your true friendship.'

Future Scenerio

It took five days of grueling Israeli and international efforts to finally put out the disastrous conflagration. The hard work was speeded up by a cold front that swept into the area, bringing with it the first soaking rains of the season. PM Netanyahu ordered that 2,500 shekels (about 700 US dollars) be given to every individual who was directly affected by the Carmel forest fire. The Jewish National Fund said it raised over 1.5 million dollars in just one week to help reforest the devastated area, saying it would need another eight million to adequately complete the job. However, experts say the land must rest at least one year before any new saplings can be planted.

As officials began to assess the extensive damage caused by the deadly fire, many of the international crews who helped battle the blaze were busy making their way some 50 miles north to Beirut, where a large forest fire-one of 120 that erupted in Lebanon in early December-was threatening to engulf portions of the Lebanese capital city. Meteorologists say the spate of forest fires along the eastern Mediterranean basin early in the month were largely the result of the dearth of rainfall in the region over the past year, which has amounted to only 25% of normal totals.

The Israeli public was clearly shocked to discover that their country was not equipped to contain the forest fire on its own. Many commentators pointed to the rash of fires that erupted in 2006 as a result of the massive Hizbullah rocket blitz which struck the northern third of the country that summer. Given frequent warnings from military and government officials that Israel's next war will undoubtedly feature an even heavier, countrywide missile bombardment, many asked why was the government was not far more prepared to fight one single forest fire, even if it was a relatively large conflagration.

Many fingers were pointed in the direction of Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who oversees the operations and budgets of Israel's municipal fire departments. It was especially noted that the Orthodox Shas party leader had refused to accept any further donations of firefighting equipment offered by the American-based International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which had donated eight fire trucks to Galilee region fire departments in the wake of the 2006 war. Headed by an Orthodox American Jew, the group had attempted to send additional aid after Yishai became Interior Minister in early 2008, but was reportedly turned down due to allegations by some Shas leaders that it engages in clandestine missionary work. Other exclusively Christian aid groups reported similar turndowns. Calls came from many quarters for the Shas leader to resign his post. Yishai replied that he would remain at his desk, calling the demands for his resignation a 'lynching' by anti-Orthodox citizens scrambling to find a scapegoat for the worst forest fire in Israel's history.

It was not only commentators and politicians who harshly criticized government authorities for their apparent lack of adequate preparations to suppress significant forest fires. Israeli State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss issued a sharp rebuke over the official response to the Carmel fire, laying most of the blame on the Interior Ministry. He wrote that Eli Yishai and his predecessor, Kadima party Knesset member Meir Sheetrit, had not learned the lessons they should have from the 2006 conflict with the Lebanese Shiite Hizbullah militia. He opined that the government has 'hardly begun to address the many deficiencies in the emergency response aspect of Home Front defense' that became evident during the conflict. Even more disturbing, the Comptroller warned that Israeli response teams are 'in danger of collapse' if another large-scale disaster takes place, whether it be natural or man caused.

Deadly Terror Assault Near Jerusalem

Exactly one week before Christmas, two female friends went for a hike in a forest southwest of Jerusalem near the town of Beit Shemesh. One of the women, Kay Wilson, is an Israeli immigrant from the UK, while the second was her friend and co-worker, Kristine Luken from America. Two Arab men spotted the hikers and approached them, asking for some drinking water. Then they tied each of them up and rummaged through their bags, stealing valuable contents before repeatedly stabbing them with a knife. Luken quickly perished from her wounds while Wilson, an Israeli believer, faked being dead to put a halt to the atrocious stabbing barrage. She subsequently managed to recruit help from some Israelis picnicking in the area.

The slain American worked for the London-based CMJ ministry, whose local headquarters is adjacent to the oldest Protestant church in Jerusalem, the Old City's Anglican Christchurch, located just inside Jaffa Gate. Wilson is a tour guide with Shoresh Tours, based in the Christchurch compound guesthouse. David Pillegi, the church's American-born rector, said the local believing community was in 'shock and mourning' over the vicious, unprovoked assault. Israeli police confirmed that the attack was 'nationalistically motivated,' meaning it was a terror assault possibly sparked off by the fact that Wilson was wearing a Jewish Star of David around her neck. They arrested two Arab suspects several days after the incident took place, although a police gag order prevented their identities from being publicly revealed.

Speaking at a well-attended memorial service at Christchurch three days before Christmas, Robin Aldridge, who heads up the CMJ office in London where Luken worked as an administrator since 2009, commended the deceased victim for what he termed her 'beautiful and gentle spirit, as well as her strong and vibrant faith.' She was also highly praised by other speakers for her deep love of Israel and the Jewish people. Some local Messianic leaders noted that Luken's murder, as tragic as it was, later had the effect of testifying to the Israeli public about her sincere faith in Israel's God, along with reminding them of widespread international Christian support for the often isolated Jewish state.

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