Israel, The Philippines, and Typhoon Haiyan

א' חנוכה תשע"ד

The Philippines has been devastated by one of the biggest storms our planet has ever experienced.

Typhoon Haiyan
Approaching the Philippines (pink outline-left) from the east.

And, like it was with Greece, Turkey, and Haiti, during their respective natural disasters, it's Israel to the rescue.

Israel Hayom: Israel sends disaster relief team to Philippines
Eli Leon, Nitzi Yaakov, Lilach Soval, Shlomo Cesana, News Agencies and Staff, November 11, 2013

A joint Foreign Ministry and Homefront Command advance team left for the Philippines on Sunday night as part of Israel's effort to offer disaster relief in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.
The Category 5 super-storm ravaged six central Philippine islands over the weekend, displacing more than 600,000 people and leaving 10,000 people dead -- a figure authorities believe will grow as rescue operations continue. (cont.)

Not only that, Israel made quite an impression.

NBC: Dr. Nancy Snyderman 'in awe' of Israeli medics in Philippines
The Israeli Defense Force has responded to the crisis in Philippines by setting up a high-tech system to track each patient in Bogo. Many of the survivors in this area are suffering from dehydration, fever and diarrhea. NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman reports. 

Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Chief Medical Editor, November 15, 2013 

MACTAN, Philippines -- I've always been fascinated by how well the Israeli Defense Force, otherwise known as the IDF, delivers emergency response medical care in extremely poor conditions. My first experience with the IDF was in Haiti after the devastation of the earthquake there. They were remarkable then, triaging and treating patients in the midst of the devastation... 

...I asked the IDF Surgeon General in charge why they chose Bogo. He said it was because they were poor and their needs were great. As I left, I walked away in awe of this group of doctors: physician humanitarians, and medicine at its very best.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The question is why did we go?

Unfortunately, Israelis have also become experts in matching body parts to one another, due to the Torah's strict burial requirements. Zak"a has traveled around the world (India) bringing this service abroad.

No one says anything when wealthy Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia do not participate. No one says anything when wealthy Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia deals harshly with their illegal immigrants, while Israel gets called racist for not allowing even more illegals within its borders.

Is it wrong to help other countries? Neighboring countries such as Turkey and Greece, and even Europe, you make an argument for Derech HaShalom,...maybe,...barely.

Helping 'Ovdei Avodah Zarah

Philippina praying to her idol-a lot of good it did.

תְּהִלִּים קטו
א  לֹא לָנוּ יְהוָה, לֹא-לָנוּ: כִּי-לְשִׁמְךָ, תֵּן כָּבוֹד--עַל-חַסְדְּךָ, עַל-אֲמִתֶּךָ. ב לָמָּה, יֹאמְרוּ הַגּוֹיִם: אַיֵּה-נָא, אֱלֹהֵיהֶם. ג וֵאלֹהֵינוּ בַשָּׁמָיִם--כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-חָפֵץ עָשָׂה. ד  עֲצַבֵּיהֶם, כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב; מַעֲשֵׂה, יְדֵי אָדָם. ה פֶּה-לָהֶם, וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ; עֵינַיִם לָהֶם, וְלֹא יִרְאוּ.ו  אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם, וְלֹא יִשְׁמָעוּ; אַף לָהֶם, וְלֹא יְרִיחוּן. ז יְדֵיהֶם, וְלֹא יְמִישׁוּן--רַגְלֵיהֶם, וְלֹא יְהַלֵּכוּ; לֹא-יֶהְגּוּ, בִּגְרוֹנָם. ח כְּמוֹהֶם, יִהְיוּ עֹשֵׂיהֶם--כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-בֹּטֵחַ בָּהֶם. ט  יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּטַח בַּיהוָה; עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוּא.

Psalms 115
1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake. 2 Wherefore should the nations say: 'Where is now their God?' 3 But our God is in the heavens; whatsoever pleased Him He hath done. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of the hands of men. 5 They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; 6 They have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; 7 They have hands, but they handle not; they have feet, but they do not walk; neither speak they with their throat.8 Those who make them shall be like unto them; every one who trust in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield! 

Helping [Voo-Doo] Haiti? Helping The [Catholic] Philippines? Oh, "they" will want to tell you what a Qedushath HaShem it its to help foreign peoples,...who also happen to worship avodah zarah. I cannot say for certain that these people have suffered as punishment for their avodah zarah, or for bringing it to Israel, and leading Jews astray with it. I am most certainly not on that kind of level. The Ramba"m, on the other hand, just might be.

It maybe by mere chance that a ship goes down with all her contents,...or a roof goes down on all those within; but it is not due to chance, according to our view, that in the one instance the men went into the ship, or remained in the house in the other instance: it is due to the will of God, and is in accordance with the justice of His judgments, the method of which our mind is incapable of understanding.
Ramba"m, The Guide to the Perplexed, 111:17

And, if it is forbidden to help these people within Eretz Yisrael,...

רמב"ם: הלבות עבודה זרה וחוקות הגוים
י,ג  [ב] מכאן אתה למד שאסור לרפאות עובדי  עבודה זרה, אפילו בשכר; ואם היה מתיירא מהן, או שהיה חושש משום איבה--מרפא בשכר, אבל בחינם אסור....

Ramba"m: The Laws of Avodah Zarah and Statutes of the Goyim10:3 [2] From here you learn that it is forbidden to heal practicioners of foreign worship, even for pay; and if there is fear of them, or fear of hostility--one heals them for pay, but for free, it is forbidden....

Are we that afraid of an attack, if we don't help them? We, here in Israel, are at risk of an attack every second which passes. The fact that Jews reside in Israel, puts us at risk for such an attack, already. So, I cannot buy that. As far as the inyan of "Derech HaShalom" is concerned, can you spell C-O-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-C-E?

Harming Ourselves by Helping Others
When there are homeless and hungry people in our own country (not to mention those getting beaten up by other foreigners), then we need to take another very close look at this.

רמב"ם: הלכות מתנות ענייםז,י  [יא] אדם שוע שהוא נותן צדקה יתר מן הראוי לו, או שמצר לעצמו ונותן לגבאים כדי שלא יתבייש--אסור לתובעו ולגבות ממנו צדקה; וגבאי שמכלימו ושואל ממנו--עתיד להיפרע ממנו, שנאמר "ופקדתי, על כל לוחציו" (ירמיהו ל,כ).

Ramba"m: Laws of Gifts for the Poor7:10 [11] One who gives tzedaqah more than is appropriate for him, or which causes himself harm, and gives to the collector in order that he would not be embarrassed--it is forbidden to require of him or to collect tzedaqah from him. and the collector who shames him and does ask of him [tzedaqah], will be dealt with in the future, as it is said, "...and I will punish all that oppress them" (Jer. 30:20)

I recently got an e-mail from an excellent, charitable organization, requesting donations for blankets for IDF soldiers. I pray that they will be successful. But, this just begs the question,...

"Why is it that the IDF not able to supply its soldiers with enough blankets, yet it is able to take a massive mission to the Philipines?

And what of the votes by the Philippines on various UN resolutions these past few weeks?

Oh, many of you will that one has nothing to do with the other, that the IDF should bend over backwards for Esau who wants to steal our souls and take our land, AND for Yishma'el who wants to kill us and take our land. 

Payback?
Does Israel feel an obligation to help The Philippines, as payback for the cheap labor they provide?

Here in Israel, we are so dependent on foreign labor, particularly from the Philippines, that the Israel's Postal Service provides deals for money transfer outside of Israel, and information in Tagalog, the primary language of Philippinos.

The Post Office also serves as distribution points for Philippinos very own avodah zarah magazine, Manila Tel Aviv. They even have their own Philippina in Israel beauty pageant, for which I refuse to post a photo, for obvious reasons.

But, none of this really matters, except to add fuel to our co-dependent, nebachy fire. Why are we doing this? For the same old reasons, since before getting expelled from Spain 521 years ago: habitual assimilation, and seeking of validation and acceptance  from an external source, the goyim (non-Jews).