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Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/10/3986466/syrian-refugee-crisis-brings-israelis.html
Syrian Refugee Crisis Brings Jews and Arabs Together
(Miami Herald) Carli Teproff - While Israel and Syria have been foes for decades, a group of Jewish leaders and Israelis are focusing on the humanitarian side of the Syrian civil war. Georgette Bennett, founder and president of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding in New York, formed the Jewish Coalition for Syrian Refugees in Jordan after reaching out to Alan Gill, the CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. "We are commanded as Jews to respond to human suffering," she said. "We are talking about individual human beings." They chose to focus on Jordan because the small country was being overwhelmed by refugees. Meanwhile, there has also been an effort in Israel to aid the refugees. Nir Boms, an Israeli policy analyst, said their first efforts began around March 2012. Through Operation Human Warmth, Israelis have sent 1,350 tons of goods including food and clothing.