A recent article on the joint JCJ-JDC efforts in the Tohoku area
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Seeking A Use For $100,000 - JDC Proposes Donation
On February 17th, the Japan representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) met with Mayor Futoshi Toba at Rikuzentaka City Hall. The JDC, which is planning to donate up to $100,000 (approximately ¥8.0 million) to the city of Rikuzentakata, has requested a proposal from the city on how such funds would be used. The JDC is an American-based charitable organization that was established in 1914 and which serves as the coordinating body for the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, a group of forty-five Jewish organizations that provide disaster relief assistance. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, the JDC itself has raised approximately ¥210 million for disaster relief in Japan. Working in conjunction with Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCO), the JDC decided to provide a contribution to the City of Rikuzentakata. Today, the JDC's Japan Representative, Philip R. Rosenfeld, visited Rikuzentakata City Hall. During his meeting with Mayor Toba, Rosenfeld said, "The JDC would specifically like to assist vulnerable populations such as the elderly, women and children and that if the need exists, JDC funding should be applied to projects such as psycho-social care or the purchase of school activity related equipment for children. Once the JDC has approved of a project, funding would take place quickly thereafter." In response to Rosenfeld's comments, Mayor Toba said, "Rikuzentakata has a high proportion of elderly residents. I will think of an avenue to utilize JDC funding for children and the elderly. If our requests match your thinking, I would be more than pleased to accept a donation from the JDC." From the Tokai Shinpo February 18, 2012 |
JCJ mission in the the Tohoku area
Dear Friends,
Shalom. I want to take this opportunity to update you on our response, as a community, to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan one month ago today. Our efforts have ranged from providing food supplies in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, to raising funds for disaster relief to lending support to the IDF field hospital team based in Minami Sanriku in northern Miyagi Prefecture.
Within days of the disaster, the Jewish Community of Japan sent an e-mail to its members asking for donations of food that would be delivered to the Sendai area. The response of our community and friends to this request was wonderful and the donations provided helped many individuals in their time of greatest need. We also established a relief fund and in partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, have raised over US$60,000 that has been donated to NGO JEN, a Japan based NGO that is providing disaster relief services in Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures (http://www.jen-npo.org/en/index.html). The Jewish Community of Japan will continue to raise money to assist the victims of the disaster in meeting both their immediate and long-term needs and needless to say, your contributions are most welcome.
On March 28th, the Israel Defense Forces established a fifty member field hospital in Minami Sanriku, a coastal fishing village in northern Miyagi Prefecture that was devastated by the tsunami. The IDF team, which will return to Israel today, provided patient care and medical services that in many cases were otherwise not available within a two hour radius of the field hospital. Specialist services included ENT, internal medicine, gynecology, obstetrics, ophthalmology, orthopedics and pediatrics. The hospital also provided x-ray imaging and was equipped with an intensive care unit, medical laboratory and pharmacy. Philip Rosenfeld, Carmel Rosenthal and Arie Grosman (in the above photo with Yair Golan, the Commander General of the Home Front Command) visited the hospital last week and told me of the wonderful work being performed by the hospital staff and of the cultural bridges that they were building with the local community (http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110408005848.htm). It is my understanding that the IDF will leave behind most of the medical equipment that they brought with them so that local doctors can continue to meet the medical needs of the residents in the area. The Jewish Community of Japan helped in any way that it could to support the IDF during their humanitarian mission in Japan. Although the field hospital team was intended to be self-sustaining, which was a requirement of the Japanese government for being permitted to provide assistance in the disaster area, the JCC offered its assistance and provided the IDF with approximately 100 freshly-baked challah, sixty kilos of fresh vegetables and sixty frozen kosher chickens that were used this past Shabbat. We also agreed, at the request of the field hospital commander, to fund one-way tickets from Japan to Israel for three half-Japanese active duty IDF soldiers who were part of the mission so that they could remain behind in Japan for a short period of time to visit their families. It was ultimately decided by the IDF however that the three soldiers would return to Israel with the field hospital team. We should consider ourselves to be very fortunate and as Jews and as members of the Japanese community, it is our obligation to continue to help those in need. Your ongoing support for these efforts will be much appreciated.
R. Antonio
Shalom. I want to take this opportunity to update you on our response, as a community, to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan one month ago today. Our efforts have ranged from providing food supplies in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, to raising funds for disaster relief to lending support to the IDF field hospital team based in Minami Sanriku in northern Miyagi Prefecture.
Within days of the disaster, the Jewish Community of Japan sent an e-mail to its members asking for donations of food that would be delivered to the Sendai area. The response of our community and friends to this request was wonderful and the donations provided helped many individuals in their time of greatest need. We also established a relief fund and in partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, have raised over US$60,000 that has been donated to NGO JEN, a Japan based NGO that is providing disaster relief services in Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures (http://www.jen-npo.org/en/index.html). The Jewish Community of Japan will continue to raise money to assist the victims of the disaster in meeting both their immediate and long-term needs and needless to say, your contributions are most welcome.
On March 28th, the Israel Defense Forces established a fifty member field hospital in Minami Sanriku, a coastal fishing village in northern Miyagi Prefecture that was devastated by the tsunami. The IDF team, which will return to Israel today, provided patient care and medical services that in many cases were otherwise not available within a two hour radius of the field hospital. Specialist services included ENT, internal medicine, gynecology, obstetrics, ophthalmology, orthopedics and pediatrics. The hospital also provided x-ray imaging and was equipped with an intensive care unit, medical laboratory and pharmacy. Philip Rosenfeld, Carmel Rosenthal and Arie Grosman (in the above photo with Yair Golan, the Commander General of the Home Front Command) visited the hospital last week and told me of the wonderful work being performed by the hospital staff and of the cultural bridges that they were building with the local community (http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110408005848.htm). It is my understanding that the IDF will leave behind most of the medical equipment that they brought with them so that local doctors can continue to meet the medical needs of the residents in the area. The Jewish Community of Japan helped in any way that it could to support the IDF during their humanitarian mission in Japan. Although the field hospital team was intended to be self-sustaining, which was a requirement of the Japanese government for being permitted to provide assistance in the disaster area, the JCC offered its assistance and provided the IDF with approximately 100 freshly-baked challah, sixty kilos of fresh vegetables and sixty frozen kosher chickens that were used this past Shabbat. We also agreed, at the request of the field hospital commander, to fund one-way tickets from Japan to Israel for three half-Japanese active duty IDF soldiers who were part of the mission so that they could remain behind in Japan for a short period of time to visit their families. It was ultimately decided by the IDF however that the three soldiers would return to Israel with the field hospital team. We should consider ourselves to be very fortunate and as Jews and as members of the Japanese community, it is our obligation to continue to help those in need. Your ongoing support for these efforts will be much appreciated.
R. Antonio
 Carmel Rosenthal, Dr. Carmel Cayouf, Arie Grosman, Hannah Rosenfeld, Philip Rosenfeld and Dr. Udi Katzenell.  Izaki-san baking challot for the IDF in the JCJ kitchen |
 Morning briefing at the hospital  Hannah Rosenfeld presenting the IDF soldiers with the letters and drawings of the JCJ Hebrew School children |
