Considering Israel lies near the Syrian-African fault line, and has not suffered from an earthquake in a while, we should all be concerned about ill-preparedness. Israel’s recent experience with a natural disaster (tragic, although milder than what happened in Japan) showed the terrible consequences of erosion in public services. And even the most obvious lessons have not been learned (Hebrew). Whether in preparation for disaster or for war, civilian lives remain unprotected in Israel.
I am an activist for social rights and human rights in Israel and Palestine, living in Tel Aviv. I’ve written several human rights reports and op-eds in ynet, Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post. Over the last few years, I volunteered and worked for several Israeli NGOs, including Yesh Din, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizations I work for.