Israel and American Jews Launch Efforts to Aid Rwandan Refugees

Israel and American Jewish organizations have launched separate, large-scale efforts to bring aid to the 1.2 million refugees who have fled strife-torn Rwanda into neighboring Zaire.

On Sunday, Israel dispatched to the region eight transport planes loaded with medical equip- ment, a 77-member medical team and supplies to set up a field hospital.

It is believed to be the largest aid effort ever sent abroad from Israel to provide disaster relief.

The Israel Defense Force 120-bed field hospital will include operating and intensive care facilities, special children’s care units and X-ray and emergency lighting equipment.

One of the transport planes will be fitted with giant tanks filled with thousands of gallons of fresh water, one of the most sought-after commodities in the wake of the cholera epidemic that broke out last week among the Rwandan refugees.

The field hospital and its staff is being accompanied by Environment Minister Yossi Sarid and by the chief IDF medical officer, Brig. Gen. Michael Weiner. The team will spend two weeks on the Zaire-Rwanda border before being replaced by a fresh team from Israel. The Israeli presence will likely last a total of six weeks.

35 AMERICAN JEWISH GROUPS TO PARTICIPATE

Meanwhile, a coalition of 35 American Jewish organizations has solidified to provide many forms of assistance to the refugees, with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee acting as the overseer of the project.

A unique partnership to help the refugees has also been formed between the JDC and the African-American Institute, a multiracial, multiethnic organization that specializes in creating mutual understanding between the United States and Africa and developing human resources in Africa.

Around 15 black organizations will participate in the effort under the coordination of the institute. Dorothy Davis Joseph, director of public affairs at the institute, said the collaboration of the black and Jewish communities “reflects a long history of cooperation between the two groups.”

Gideon Taylor, director of special projects at the JDC, said the coalition was originally assembled to organize relief for war-torn Somalia. He said the coalition had doubled in size for the current effort.

“We welcome strongly this coming together of so many organizations to deal with the desperate plight of the Rwandan refugees,” said Milton Wolf, president of the JDC.

Abie Nathan, the longtime peace activist and humanitarian who was excluded from the Israeli aid mission, will participate in the American effort, according to Taylor. He had been among the first leaders of volunteer teams to go to Rwanda.

The first concrete steps in the American Jewish effort were taken last weekend with the purchase of two water-filtration units to deal with the shortage of clean water in Zaire. The units, which were purchased in Kenya and were expected to be sent to Zaire this week, can pump 50,000 liters of water a day.

A medical team was also expected to be sent to Rwanda this week. The team will most likely be sent from Ethiopia, where a JDC medical-relief program is currently operating, and be headed by an American doctor.

The JDC has ordered tents to be set up in the refugee camps as substantial centers for providing medical services and shelter.

The estimated cost of these combined efforts is $700,000, and the addition of more projects in the coming weeks could raise the total to $1 million. The agency was planning to take out an advertisement in The New York Times this week to raise the necessary funds.

Some $300,000 raised by the JDC for relief in Somalia is being transferred to the Rwanda fund.

According to Taylor, the American relief effort is independent of the steps taken by the Israeli government to assist the Rwandan refugees. Colette Avital, Israeli consul general in New York, also issued an appeal last week for American Jews to join in efforts to aid the Rwandan refugees.

Although Israel and the American Jewish groups are organizing their efforts separately, Taylor said it was highly likely that the two groups “will fold into one,” noting as an example the possible attachment of medical teams from both countries.

“A JDC representative in Israel is speaking with people from the Israeli army,” he added.

(JTA correspondent Hugh Orgel in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.)