The Israeli government is donating $1.5 million worth of equipment for earthquake relief in China.
The first three tons of supplies arrived Thursday afternoon on a commercial El Al flight to Beijing. The supplies included sleeping bags, blankets and personal water purification units.
A cargo plane carrying the remaining equipment, estimated between 70 and 90 tons, will leave Israel in the coming days and go directly to Chengdu.
The Israeli government is making purchases based on a list of needed supplies from the Chinese government.
“Israel continues to watch with the deepest concern and distress the ongoing tragedy being faced by China and its people in the wake of the earthquake,” Israel’s ambassador to China, Amos Nadai, said Thursday. “The outpouring of sentiment in our country is deep and genuine. As longstanding friends of the Chinese people, we are committed to doing everything we can to help at this critical time.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.