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How Israel Became a Foreign Aid Power

(Israel Embassy-Washington) Haim Divon - In July 2010, an oil tanker in the Congo exploded near an open amphitheater which was filled to capacity with soccer fans watching the Mondial games on a large screen, causing hundreds of deaths and hundreds of injuries. Israel was the first country to offer assistance, sending an aid delegation of doctors and nurses who treated the casualties and succeeded in healing and rehabilitating many. Israel is also one of the largest exporters of knowledge to countries in the developing world in fields such as health and agriculture. Ben-Gurion said at the start of Israel's international aid endeavor fifty years ago: "We, here, the Jews in our homeland, must also ask ourselves if Israel can help with the advancement and development of the countries of Asia and Africa." "Israel is obligated to view assistance to those countries as a great historic mission that is required for Israel no less than the benefit that it gives to the countries it assists." The writer is the Deputy Director General of MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation - at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2011-06-24 00:00:00
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