At a Week of the Peacemaker Event featuring the Consulate General of Israel, it would not be bold to assume that discussions may include the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

In 1948, the British withdrew from the mandate of Palestine, and the United Nations formed two states, one Arab and one Jewish, out of the former Palestinian state. As a result, the conflict, however, was not an issue that Consul for Media Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York Joël Lion wanted to address.

Presented by the Br. John G. Driscoll Professorship in Jewish-Catholic Studies and sponsored by the Department of International Studies, the Department of Political Science, the Department of Mass Communication, and the Iona College Honors Program, the Consulate General was invited to speak about the partnership between nations and other considerations associated with disaster relief planning.

Lion sought to answer the following questions: What leads nations to engage in partnerships for disaster relief planning?  Why do states advocate for citizens who are not their own?

“Tonight we will not be discussing Israel’s conflict in the Middle East.  Tonight we will discuss how Israel is playing a crucial role in providing aid in order to help end the major crises of the world,” Lion said.  

His presentation sought to answer the following questions: “What leads nations to engage in partnerships for disaster relief planning?  Why do states advocate for citizens who are not their own?”

In his presentation, Lion explained that the world is in a global crisis with hunger, disease, and poverty on the rise.  One-third of the world’s population earns less than 25 dollars per day, and in 2050 three billion people will not have access to water.

“Israel has partaken in over 50 years of international assistance as one of the fastest developing countries in the world.  It is Israel’s duty to help the underdeveloped of our world to promote maintainable development and social justice,” Lion said.

Israel’s promotion of social justice and the commitment to helping others was launched in 1958 with the goal of informing the developing world of the knowledge and technologies responsible for Israel’s own rapid development. 

MASHAV, Israel’s Center for International Cooperation is a small but significant contributor to the improvement of our world and the assistance to those most in need.

MASHAV has made its priority the aims of poverty mitigation, foundation of food security, empowerment of women, and enhancement of basic health and education services, using Israel’s own creative resolutions to aid the developing world. 

MASHAV’s guiding principles call for: focus on an area of expertise, active consultation, working with all countries no matter how small, community driven development, partnership with other organizations and forging new bonds. Operating on these guiding principles, Israel uses its own experience beginning as a developing country just over sixty years ago.

Lion informed the audience of the many projects in which Israel has offered aid in the world’s developing nations. 

MASHAV helped Africa to create the African Market Garden, which helped farmers to overcome the constraints of labor intensive irrigation and poor water and nutrient management. With the market gardens the crop yields for farmers has increased and resulted in the growth of agribusiness.

Recently, Israel was one of the first countries to arrive in Haiti after the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12.

 “Israel arrived in Haiti two days after the earthquake—one of the first countries to arrive at the scene of the disaster prepared to provide relief.  Israel is involved in a war, but it does not hesitate to provide aid and assistance to those in dire need,” Lion said.

As Lion expressed in his discussion, helping others does not stop within one’s own country, but extends beyond national borders to those most in need.  Development of the world requires larger, more powerful nations to advocate for justice, doing all in their power to provide aid and assistance to the underdeveloped in our world in order to create a better future.