Feb. 14, 2010
 
COMMENTARY: Israel Praised for Rescue and Relief Efforts in Haiti
 
By Craig Hammond
 
Israeli rescue and relief teams were the first to arrive in Haiti after a 7.0 earthquake hit the small country on January 12, 2010. Dr. Jennifer Furin of Harvard Medical School told CNN that only Israel managed to provide advanced assistance quickly.
 
Elizabeth Cohen, a reporter from CNN, was amazed at how quickly the Israelis arrived and the level of service they provided. Israel erected a field hospital inside a soccer stadium complete with ventilators, surgery suites, scanning, and x-ray machines just 72 hours after the quake hit. They were treating victims and performing life saving surgical procedures on day one.
 
Within four hours of their arrival, Israeli search-and-rescue teams along with Israeli Defense Force (IDF) canine units extracted hundreds of people trapped under the rubble of buildings.
 
Bill Clinton, former US president, praised Israeli efforts as soon as he arrived in Haiti. "I'm profoundly grateful to the Israelis," Clinton said during an interview with a television news team.
 
Congratulatory reports about Israeli rescue, medical, and relief services also appeared on BBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and many US newspapers.
 
What's truly amazing is how fast Israel was able to provide aid to the devastated country of Haiti literally days before other advanced countires arrived.
 
If someone had told me two months ago that world's news networks and newsapers would be praising Israel for its humanitarian work -- half way around the earth -- I wouldn't believe it. But they did. The media can be objective after all.
 
Craig Hammond, is host of Radio Active on WHIS (1440 AM) and WTZE (1470 AM) in Bluefield, WV and Tazewell, Virginia. A proud native of Chicago -- "Go Sox" -- he's a former mayor of Bluefield.
 
Editor's Note: For a YouTube video on Israeli medical and relief efforts in Haiti, click on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A2Mx3Dg_bM