(USA Today) Michele Chabin - When the Rev. Raed Abusahliah, director of the Catholic humanitarian aid group Caritas Jerusalem, sought donations of food, clothing and other vital supplies for Gazans, he didn't anticipate the outpouring of support from Israeli Jews, who he said constituted about half of the 600-700 donors to the campaign. The Palestinian Catholic priest said, "Many Jews have also sent us messages of solidarity and offers of everything from baby clothes to blood donations." While polls in Israel show that a vast majority of Jews believe the Israel Defense Forces had no choice but to shell Gaza to stop nearly 3,500 Hamas rocket attacks over the past five weeks, "that doesn't mean we believe the civilians in Gaza are the enemy," said Angy Shavit, one of the Jews who promoted Cariatas' campaign through social media. Shavit surmised that most of the Jewish Israelis donating "don't feel guilty" about Israel's military operation against Hamas. "It's just that when a baby needs diapers, you donate diapers."
2014-08-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive