Japan and a joint Jordanian-Jewish exercise

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Jolted by the level of devastation in Japan, Jordan and Israel are getting together to prepare for our own expected big earthquake.
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All photos by Dani Machlis/BGU

Is this not a heart-warming picture?
One stretcher-bearer from the Jordanian Red Crescent and one from Israel's Red Magen David.
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Photo by Dani Machlis/BGU

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One week ago the two medical organizations and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev held an "Exercise Simulating a Response to an Earthquake" in Timna, down south in the Arava valley.

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Ben-Gurion University's photographer, Dani Machlis, covered the event and he has very graciously agreed to share his beautiful photos with us for this post.

Thank you, Dani!

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Photo by Dani Machlis/BGU

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Two hundred people took part, including trained professionals that included academic faculty and students at BGU.

Together they treated the simulated "wounded" and set up a tent camp for those who would have been made homeless by a quake, for example, in the nearby cities of Eilat and Aqaba.

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Students (including Jordanians) can study for a bachelor's degree in emergency medicine at Ben-Gurion U. medical school.

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Please see more about the joint exercise in the Jerusalem Post.
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The earthquake-prone Great Rift Valley (the Syrian-African Rift) runs along the shared border of Jordan and Israel.

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The Israeli city of Eilat and the Jordanian Aqaba are on the bottom of the map.

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These troubled days we are greatly admiring Japan's embedded culture of preparedness and we will try to learn to be more like the Japanese.

Meanwhile, an Israeli team is setting up a field hospital in a hard-hit fishing village north of Tokyo and we are sending mattresses, blankets, coats, gloves and chemical toilets.

Our hearts and prayers are with the Japanese people.

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(The J theme is a contribution to today's ABC Wednesday meme. )

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This is a drill

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We are in the middle of a 5-day targil. The exercise, code-named Turning Point Four, is Israel's largest civil defense operation since it first launched the annual drill four years ago in the wake of the Lebanon war, during which Hizbullah fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel.


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Let's look at how the Jerusalem Post describes the practice scenario, beginning last Sunday:
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"Israel came under heavy simulated missile fire in what would be the 15th day of a mock all-out regional war with Hizbullah [who are in Lebanon], Syria, Hamas [i.e. Gaza Strip], and Iran.
. . . close to 200 rockets and missiles, included ones with chemical warheads launched from Syria, landed in the center of the country.
The focus of the drill is on 38 local councils, mostly from the center of the country, which are undergoing a series of simulations to test their ability to continue providing basic services [e.g. water supply] for their residents at a time of war.
Under the scenario, most of the missiles were landing in the Gush Dan region in the center of the country, from which about 200,000 residents decided to flee south. The Eilat Municipality was asked, in the drill, to prepare a plan to absorb some of the refugees."
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Just a few months ago these sirens were installed one block from my house.

This Wednesday at 11:00 we will get to hear them.

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The whole country will have a siren wailing then, and we are supposed to go immediately to whatever our bomb shelter or safe place is and to stay there about ten minutes.

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Is that a little solar power source I see? Good idea.

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In all this seriousness I had to laugh to read this at the Israel Defense Force blog:

"The exercise will also examine warning systems on cellular phones, and civilians in certain areas may therefore receive text messages that read “Have a nice day” signed by the IDF Home Front Command."

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The IDF Spokesman put up some photos of yesterday's search and rescue practice operation. So many girl soldiers!

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You can also see previous posts:

http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/time-factor-and-turning-point-three.html and

http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/09/special-report-on-todays-targil.html

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For more about the incoming missiles warning on cell phone and computers, do see my

http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/facts-of-israeli-life.html

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Let us hope that none of this ever really happens!

But, such as it is, that is my world for That's My World Tuesday.

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Electricity emergency

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We had an exciting electricity emergency, just in time for ABC Wednesday.
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I had my hands in water doing some hand laundry in the sink when suddenly a strange noise outside made me turn. Through the window I was shocked (so to speak) to see a heavy metal cable breaking free from its electric pole and falling in what I first thought was the general direction of my roof!
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I ran out of the house.
The cable was swinging back and forth in the air.

(All photos enlarge with a click.)

We called the electric company.

In three hours they were in our village, re-attaching the cable.

I always think linemen are very brave.

See that sign on this (and every other) pole?

It says in Hebrew, Arabic, and English "DANGER OF DEATH."

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A plain old rope attached to the bumper of the car helped pull the heavy cable back into position.

Thanks, guys!
Things are back to normal again.

But it still looks to me like that long stretch of cable is hanging by a proverbial thread.

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Special report on today's targil

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FEAR NOT, this is only a PRACTICE DRILL.

At 1:00 today police cordoned off the main street of Jerusalem's Machaneh Yehuda open-air market.
Rescuers, first responders, and police all played their part in responding to a mock mega terrorist attack.

Border Police took stock of the situation where plumes of artificial smoke were rising.

Soon small groups of Border Policemen were patrolling up and down busy Jaffa Road in single file, no doubt searching for more bombs or suicide bombers.

Yasam, the special riot police, zipped in and out.

If you enlarge this photo, you can see the new (what I think are called) ambucycles of Magen David Adom.

They have two wheels in front, one in back.

Then the simulated wounded were evacuated to waiting ambulances.

Fortunately sirens were not blaring continually. This I think contributed to the rather calm, albeit serious, atmosphere.

Notice the medic's ritual fringe. Many of Jerusalem's rescue volunteers are religious.

All the wounded had a big tag hung on them.

These Palestinian men looked on, probably while the fruit and vegetable stalls where they work were closed for the two hours of the drill.

Here comes the fire engine.

Everyone has a vest identifying his or her function--medic, paramedic, etc..

Enter the forensic police.

The Magen David Adom van is called Taran, short for Tachanat eru'a rav nifga'im, meaning "station for an event with multiple casualties."
The man in white is a Zaka volunteer. Zaka is the Hebrew acronym for Disaster Victims Identification. These are the haredi (very Orthodox) men who collect the remains of the dead, no matter how small, for proper burial. They deserve a whole separate post.

The social workers and psychologists were sent in from the Jerusalem Municipality.

Thank God, this time the "dead" were but dummies, with black tape keeping their eyes closed.

Plastic arms and legs were scattered on the pavement.

Folding the Zaka body bags.

At the end of two hours of intense activity, the barricades were slid back. The firemen took down their ladder, and the public was free to resume shopping.

Only at the very end were the photojournalists allowed in, after the exercise was over.

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The police order was for us, we the public, lachzor lashigra, to return to our normal routine.

This is said very often in Israel and is held to be very important in order to keep one's sanity.

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Light for Earth Hour, and after

Earth Hour tonight around the world, with 23 cities and hundreds of towns turning off their lights at 8:00 pm. Wouldn't you know it--Israel, or rather Tel Aviv, had to do her part already on Thursday instead, because of the Sabbath. (Turning lights off or on is considered work.)
Look at this sleek new flashlight! Its solar panel recharges the 3 AA batteries. For about every two hours charged in sunlight the BoGo will give light for one hour. BoGo stands for Buy one, Give one. That's the best part. For every one you pay for, the SunNight Solar company in Texas gives one to a person in a war zone or refugee camp or in the developing world. I believe this sharing mitsvah is what prompted my altruistic son in California to pay for two and mail one BoGo to me.

Do read "The Importance of Light" at http://www.bogolight.com/Articles.asp?ID=6.
Here is just the first surprising idea there:
"Why does light matter? Two billion people living in the developing world rely on kerosene lanterns, candles, and single-use battery flashlights for light at night. Not only are these options expensive, dangerous, and harmful to the environment, they also negatively impact health, education, and security. Literacy and Education Our lights provide an opportunity for children to read at night and to extend school hours. This is especially important in developing countries where most children spend all day tending crops, taking care of livestock, or working in cottage industries. Kerosene is increasingly expensive, especially given the recent rise in the price of petrochemicals, so many families cannot afford it. Flashlights are even more expensive, and candles do not provide adequate lighting to read. As a result, many children will never learn to read and will be trapped in a life of poverty. Our lights give them a chance at a better life, thus education is one of the strongest pillars in our vision to light the world."

I admire people of vision and of generous heart who come up with ideas like this and ways to share. And thank you too, dear son, for caring about your mama. This great flashlight can be the start of my emergency survival kit for the next big earthquake and/or war.
(Sheh lo nedah.)