Together We Stand

[ 30 ] Resilience and opportunity in crisis: Israeli civil society approaches Rabbi Dr Yossi Ives, Tag International Development; Dr Mike Naftali, Brit Olam – International Volunteering and Development; and Natalie Aharon, Israel Global Initiative O rdinary citizens and civil society organizations can play a central role in the face of crisis and recovery from wide-scale disasters, providing they are mentally and physically prepared and possess the appropriate concepts and tools. Israel is a living labo- ratory for research and practice in coping with stress, crisis and trauma. Its society is more disaster-conscious and prepared than most, through lessons learned and approaches honed over decades of real-life challenges. The Israel Global Initiative 1 was established to research and analyse the unique models and methodologies developed in Israel that can contribute most to international development. It has identified five distinctive features of the Israeli approach to disasters: the interaction between crisis and routine; creative and flexible thinking; harnessing the human factor; viewing crisis as an opportunity; and taking collaborative action. Many societies approach preparedness by setting up specialist disaster response teams, drawing up complex disaster response protocols, and sometimes establishing fully-equipped disaster response centres. While valuable, this approach suffers from the unpredictability of disasters: they rarely come announced. Plans and structures may sit idly for years before, and when the crisis occurs people may have forgotten them. In Israel, the view has long been that the best way to prepare for disasters is to ensure that civil society and state organizations build readiness into their routine. The response is not delivered merely by designated disaster-related agencies, but multiple other actors can react swiftly and competently. Furthermore, the response involves the community, which has the most relevant local knowledge and is typically in the immediate vicinity when crisis erupts. Imagine a chaotic scene with people dead, wounded and in panic. Determined operators, wearing fluorescent jackets and Creative approaches can be adopted to treat emotional harm inflicted by disasters Image: Brit Olam T ogether W e S tand