The Israeli disaster relief team who flew to England last week to help flood victims in Yorkshire have now moved on to Scotland .
Five volunteers from the IsraAid agency were helping repair homes and distributing blankets and food in the Leeds area. They headed north of the border after a member of the Jewish community in Aberdeen contacted them for help.
Parts of the city in north-east Scotland have been badly affected by storm-force winds and heavy rainfall, with rivers bursting their banks and homes and businesses inundated.
Debby Taylor, of the Aberdeen Hebrew Congregation said she was “amazed by the work the Israeli’s were doing in Leeds.”
She said: “These are people who respond to global disasters, they help Syrians, and they are elite humanitarians they know what they are doing and have all that experience to offer. I thought it was amazing.”
She added: “I got in touch with them immediately to let them know the situation in Scotland was bad and I invited them here to stay if they wanted to come and get involved and help.”
The aid workers travelled up to Scotland at the beginning of the week.
Team Leader Miki Noam Alon, 32 said: “We have just got here and are talking to local agencies and authorities about where we can help.
“We’ve seen there is a lot of damage and people here are still waiting for the insurance companies to sort out there claims so there is a limit to what we can do.
“But for people without insurance their homes have been destroyed and they have lost all their belongings. We are trying to help them first with clearing debris and just providing the community another pair of hands.”
Mr Alon, who is from Rehovot, said the reaction his team has had from people in the UK was “very warm.”
He said: “Some people have been surprised to see us come all the way from Israel, and of course politics is politics, but we are not the government.
“We are just people helping people and they are very grateful.”
He said the team is due to return to Israel in a few days but they “would be looking at ways to carry on helping flood victims in the UK in the coming months”.
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