In Wake Of Japan Quake, Israelis & Jordanians Work Together

Although Jordan and Israel have long had their differences, even after signing a peace agreement, the mutual threat of earthquakes rooted in the shaky Syrian-African Rift between them inspires cooperation that is also promoted by the sight of destruction from Japan’s quake.

A joint Israeli-Jordanian training exercise simulating regional preparedness for an earthquake and the potential for cooperation between the two nations was held in the Arava last week and unified nearly 200 people. They created a camp for “internally displaced persons” in Timna under the organization of Magen David Adom (MDA) and the Jordanian Red Crescent (JRC).

At the unusual event were trained professionals that included academic faculty and students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba.

“Watching members of the JRC build a tent with two BGU students as if they had been working together forever gave me a huge feeling of satisfaction,” said Dr.

Bruria Adini, a member of the university’s department of emergency medicine and one of the planners of the event. “There was this incredible energy as both the Israelis and Jordanians found their common language and worked together. The cooperation was real and not just something we had talked about.”

The exercise occurred during the fourth conference of the Development and Strategy Forum (DSF), comprised of key officials from MDA, JRC and BGU; the forum, which serves as a platform for regional cooperation, was held in the presence of members of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the European Union, who have supported the cooperative initiative since it was founded some two years ago.
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