Haifa fire scouts clubhouse inaugurated
B'nai B'rith provides $80,000 for the clubhouse project in latest post-Carmel fire disaster relief effort
B'nai B'rith Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin addressed the inauguration attendees. Other attendees included Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, Fire and Rescue Commissioner Shahar Ayalon, Haifa Region Fire Department Chairman Brigadier-General Rami Dotan, Fire Chief Arie Regev Elad's mother Tzvia Riven, and Fire Scouts comrades.
B'nai B'rith is providing $80,000 for the clubhouse project from its Israel Emergency Fund which opened in December 2010 to support relief efforts after the nation's worst fire. The clubhouse will provide space for meetings, training and recreation.
Shortly after Riven's tragic death, B'nai B'rith World Center director Alan Schneider, who had been charged with implementing aid projects following the fire, learned that Haifa Region Fire Scouts officer Captain Avi Cohen had long wanted a clubhouse for the fire scouts in Haifa. B'nai B'rith's World Center and the Haifa Region Fire Department cooperated for a year to see this project to fruition.
"We hope this clubhouse will serve both to remember those who died in the fire and to provide a center for Fire Scouts to convene and continue their important work protecting northern Israel," said B'nai B'rith Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin.
"B'nai B'rith's assistance to Israel dates back to 1865 when we provided vital support to the victims of a cholera epidemic. We will continue to provide whatever disaster relief is needed to our brothers and sisters in the Jewish state."
The clubhouse is the second Israel Emergency Fund-sponsored post-fire project to be completed. Soon after the Carmel Fire, when disruption of cellular service made relief efforts difficult, B'nai B'rith supported the purchase of satellite phone kits and contracts to the 10 civilian search and rescue teams operating under F.I.R.S.T. (Fast Israel Rescue and Search Teams).
These phone kits, at a total cost of $25,000, guarantee emergency communication. F.I.R.S.T., which along with B'nai B'rith is a founding member of IsraAID-The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid, has been a major partner in emergency relief efforts around the world.
Additional projects in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority are in the works. Funding for these projects came from donations all over the world, including major contributions from B'nai B'rith Europe.
These ventures follow extensive assistance from the Israel Emergency Fund and B'nai B'rith World Center surrounding the 2006 Second Lebanon War when Hezbollah attacks crippled the lives of many Northern Israel residents.
B'nai B'rith worked with six municipalities across northern Israel to provide $200,000 in aid which provided children's play areas, computers, electronic equipment, air conditioning units and other amenities for families in shelters.
It also funded the Sifrut for Soldiers project that provided Hebrew-language best-selling books to Israel Defense Force combat soldiers.
Additionally, it funded the establishment of an advanced Command and Control Center for the Kiryat Shmona Municipality. Elbit Systems designed the system at a cost of $100,000.
B'nai B'rith International, the Global Voice of the Jewish Community, is the oldest and most widely known Jewish humanitarian, human rights and advocacy organization. For 168 years, B'nai B'rith International has worked for Jewish unity, security, continuity and tolerance.
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