September 17, 2008

By HAVIV RETTIG

IsraAid trucks carry food and supplies to some 
of the 65,000 people in Gori, Georgia, displaced 
in the fighting with Russia last month
Photo: Courtesy 

The Jewish Agency announced this week the establishment of a joint forum with the government that would coordinate assistance to Jewish communities around the world in times of crisis.

"The help the Jewish Agency gave to the Jews of Georgia proves the need for a body that will provide solutions to communities in crisis," agency chairman Ze'ev Bielski said.

According to the agency, the Sunday cabinet decision will provide an "anchor" to the already-established Forum for Preparedness for Emergencies in Jewish Communities, which was founded in 2002 to plan and coordinate aid work between the government and the agency.

The agency statement noted the "increase in anti-Semitic incidents and the threats to Jewish targets worldwide, particularly from rising extremist Islamic terror and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

The forum will be headed by the agency chairman and the cabinet secretary. The agency's secretary-general will direct its activities.