A Japanese corporation worked with the Israeli Foreign Ministry to bring aid to Turkish earthquake victims this month.
Former Knesset member Zvi Hauser, who was chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, saw an opportunity to bring together Japan’s experience in dealing with earthquakes at home and Israel’s strength in providing aid on the ground in disaster zones.
Hauser is the Israeli representative for Japanese mineral products company Shoei Shokai, and he proposed that the company donate to the victims of the major earthquakes that struck Turkey this year.
Israeli-Japanese cooperation to support the people of Turkey Together with our colleagues @IsraelinTurkey, and thanks to the donation of Sohei Shokai with the initiative of @ZviHauser, we delivered to Turkey rescue stretchers to assist in cases of earthquakes and other… https://t.co/N0sKleQ4qW
— イスラエル大使館 Israel in Japan (@IsraelinJapan) May 19, 2023
The aid, consisting of 300 blankets that can be used for warmth or as stretchers to evacuate people, as well as other supplies, were sent via the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo to the Israeli Embassy in Ankara.
The Israeli diplomats in Turkey contacted the Turkish Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry to ensure the supplies were delivered where they were needed.
How else have Israel and Japan teamed up to provide aid after humanitarian disasters?
This is not the first time Israel and Japan worked together on humanitarian causes; in 2021 they provided aid to Nepal in the wake of flooding and landslides.
Dr. Gedaliah Afterman, head of the Asia Policy Program at Reichman University, tweeted that the aid was “a great example of how a Japan-Israel strategic partnership can extend to humanitarian assistance in the Middle East and beyond.”