Tagged Israel fires 2016

Amid the flames, stories that inspire hope
December 15, 2016 /

As most of us watched in horror and felt helpless as multiple fires consumed too much of Israel, fortunately, U.S. firefighters and other firefighters from around the world temporarily set aside their normal lives and went to Israel to help. One wishes that they know how grateful those of… Read more »

Were claims of Israel’s ‘arson intifada’ overblown?

An Israeli firefighting airplane tries to extinguish a blaze raging in Haifa, Nov. 24, 2016. (Meir Vaknin/Flash90)
December 12, 2016 / Andrew Tobin, JTA

TEL AVIV (JTA) – As wildfires threatened Israel last week, rhetoric linking arson to terrorism heated up. For about a week, fires across the country burned huge swaths of land, destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, and forced tens of thousands of people to flee. Dozens were injured, though few… Read more »

Top US firefighters ‘dropped everything’ to help Israel battle the blazes

An Israeli firefighter helps acquaint his American colleagues with Israeli equipment at the fire station in Herzliya, Nov. 27, 2016. (Courtesy of the Emergency Volunteers Project)
November 28, 2016 / Andrew Tobin, JTA

TEL AVIV (JTA) – Call them Israel’s American volunteer fire brigade. Dozens of firefighters from across the United States put their lives on hold – leaving behind jobs and families – to help subdue the wildfires that swept Israel over the past week. While they all share a love of… Read more »