UJC MetroWest solicits donations for earthquake relief efforts

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

Although United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey set up a Web page requesting aid for victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake in South Asia, donor traffic on the site has been light — only several thousand dollars have been donated so far.

As a result, Lori Price Abrams, director of the Community Relations Committee of UJC MetroWest, isn’t sure what to expect and acknowledged that overall, the number of calls and Web site hits have been few. There had been a lag in getting the word out, but the reasons for the limited interest aren’t clear. “It’s possible it’s due to the Jewish holidays; it’s possible it’s donor fatigue. Time will tell,” she said.

She remains hopeful, telling NJJN she anticipates the dollars will begin to flow in now. “People have a strong sense of pathos, and this is a terrible disaster.… Like the tsunami, although not at the same level of enormity, there was horrible devastation, and relief efforts are much more difficult.”

Price Abrams also pointed out that publicity about the UJC MetroWest effort has been limited, with ads appearing in NJ Jewish News on Oct. 13 and 20. Still, there were five hits on the site within the first few hours after a mass e-mail went out publicizing the Web page mailbox on Oct. 21.

She also pointed out that people may still be focused on the devastation from Hurricane Katrina; checks are still coming in to aid those who suffered as a result of that late-August storm. To date, UJC has collected over $350,000 for Katrina, $200,000 to aid victims of the tsunami, and several thousand dollars for earthquake victims.

Another possible reason that the response to Katrina has been greater than to the more recent catastrophe: “When an event hits close to home, we identify more closely with the victims. There is something very abstract about a disaster very far away.”

Some Jewish commentators have also reacted negatively to initial reports that Pakistan had “rejected” Israel’s offer of aid.

According to an article in Ha’aretz and other press reports, Pakistan did accept Israel’s offer of aid, but only through a third party — the American Jewish Congress. Although ties between the countries have warmed noticeably in recent weeks — the foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan met for the first time last month — the countries do not have formal diplomatic relations. Just days before the earthquake, Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf met with American-Jewish leaders.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry also appeared to play down reports that Israel was perturbed by the Pakistanis’ reaction. “At the moment, everyone is talking about how we can help hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis in the area of destruction,” ministry spokesman Mark Regev told Ha’aretz. “There is a clear international effort to help Pakistan, and Israel wants to be part of that.”

Johanna Ginsberg can be reached at jginsberg@njjewishnews.com.

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