Good News from Israel

by Hillel Fendel, former editor of Arutz-7's IsraelNationalNews.com.

** Two earthquake-plagued areas in Central and South America received major rescue and humanitarian aid from Israel this summer.

IsraAID, Israel’s largest non-governmental humanitarian aid agency, is currently in Colombia, responding to a devastating earthquake there. While multiple nations offered aid to Colombia, the government explicitly restricted physical search-and-rescue teams to only four countries – and Israel was one of them. IsraAID has had an active presence for more than five years in the country, working hand-in-hand with communities to address long-term humanitarian challenges and acute crises.

The earthquake, the most powerful in Colombia in at least a century, struck only days after newly inaugurated President Abelardo De La Espriella took office, promising reforms that include reversing his predecessor’s hostile diplomatic stance toward Israel.

** In July of this year, Israel sent a rescue delegation to Venezuela after that country suffered double earthquakes – and remained there for three weeks. The quakes, 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, respectively, claimed over 6,000 lives. Despite having no official diplomatic relations with Venezuela since 2009, Israel sent a technical aid delegation alongside IsraAID teams to provide immediate medical assistance, psychological first aid, and water infrastructure relief.

These two rescue missions, which followed two similar missions just this year alone – see below – are not only life-saving and diplomatically beneficial; they are also a form of fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. For instance, the prophet Tzefania (3,20) foretold that when, in the future, the Lord returns the Jews to the Land of Israel, He will "make [them] a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth."

** Similarly, in recent months, Israel has targeted humanitarian relief to vulnerable displaced populations in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the former, organized a widespread distribution of emergency food and sanitation supplies to roughly 2,000 families suffering from severe food shortages, and in the Congo, Israeli teams worked alongside local partners to combat a spreading Ebola outbreak.

“As you know, we have experience in Israel,” the IDF’s Spanish-language spokesman, Maj. (res.) Roni Kaplan, told reporters in Colombia. “Sometimes, unfortunately, our enemies launch missiles at densely populated civilian areas, leaving civilians under the rubble. And today we are taking the knowledge in this field developed by Israel and making it available to Colombian citizens. Hopefully, we can contribute our small part here," Kapan said. "Hope in Judaism is not something that we have to wait for in the future; it is something that we have to work toward. And that is what we are doing; we are working."

Concern for Human Life and Dignity

** Just this week, Israel proved also that it spares no efforts to find and return its own people – dead or alive. Today (Aug. 18), Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that Israel had recovered, after 44 years, the remains of IDF tank officer Yehuda Yekutiel Katz, who was killed during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in Lebanon during the Peace for Galilee War. The remains were recovered in a joint operation by the IDF and the Mossad. For many years, the remains of two other missing fallen soldiers from that battle were also missing, until Israel succeeded in finding them and having them returned to Israel.

Across the Globe

** In another show of Israel's concern for human life, an Israeli mother and daughter, in their 50's and 20's, respectively, went missing in Austria for a full week – until they were safely located in Argentina by Israeli police three days ago. No foul play is suspected, but Israel showed that it spared no efforts in order to bring the case to closure for all concerned.

** In other good news, though on a totally different plane, senior political and economic analyst Dr. Guy Bechor presented today what he termed a "historic" piece of data regarding Israel's economy. "Israel's GDP (gross domestic product) surged in the second quarter of the year to an annualized rate of 15.4%, while growth in "Western" economies is hovering around zero." He notes that Israel's economy grew by only around 10% over the previous two years combined – which is largely due to the war conditions since the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023.

"Phenomenal!" and "a world-class achievement" is how Dr. Bechor described this accomplishment. He credited Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich for this quarter's historic growth: "This man is insanely talented, with diligence the likes of which we have never seen. He has scored tremendous achievements in the economy and in Judea and Samaria. He hasn't rested for a minute for four years."

"Full disclosure:" Dr. Bechor continued. "I have never met Mr. Smotrich, I have not had any connection with him or anyone on his behalf, and I need nothing from him – other than that he remains Finance Minister for another four years."