Israel Is Sending Lots of Help to Nepal, Including Field Hospital and Rescue Team, but a Prominent Activist Is Slamming the Move

The head of Human Rights Watch used Israel's announcement that it is sending a team of emergency responders to Nepal to slam the Jewish state over its Gaza policy.

Easier to address a far-away humanitarian disaster than the nearby one of Israel's making in Gaza. End the blockade! https://t.co/PUISAcGwqY

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) April 26, 2015

Israel, with a population of 8 million sent two jumbo jets carrying a 260-member emergency response team to set up a field hospital, mobile operating rooms and X-ray labs, as well as a military search and rescue team to look for survivors, as it did following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The tab will likely run in the millions. The U.S. government initially pledged $1 million in aid and a disaster response team. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Monday the U.S. is providing an additional $9 million for response and recovery efforts.

Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth has a history of making anti-Israel statements. Commenters pointed to the irony of a human rights activist criticizing Israel’s humanitarian aid to those suffering in Nepal.

@KenRoth Disgusting. Why would someone concerned about human rights criticize country's humanitarian efforts?! Crazy.

— Brian Schwartz (@BSchwartzUVA) April 26, 2015

.@KenRoth : "how dare Israel help in human rights crisis?" - chief of @hrw pic.twitter.com/RhDLsko7oS

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig)

April 27, 2015

@HenMazzig @StandWithUs @KenRoth @hrw How dare they help? Could there be a clearer example of the depravity of the writer and his cause?

— Ron Comerchero (@RonComerchero) April 27, 2015

The dictionary definition of anti-Israel bigotry. No good #Israeli deed goes unpunished @ngomonitor https://t.co/omq39vQJVz

— Adam Levick (@adamlevick) April 26, 2015

Others accused Roth of ignoring the reason Israel controls the entrances to Gaza, to block Hamas from smuggling in weapons and construction materials used to build attack tunnels like those used to strike Israeli soldiers last summer.

@GeraldNGOM @KenRoth this #hypocrite also glosses over the reasons for that blockade.

— Mark (@quellerie) April 26, 2015

Maybe it's because Nepal is not ruled by a terrorist group sworn to the murder of Jews & destruction of their state? pic.twitter.com/oUsucbVwpU

— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) April 26, 2015

Someone else pointed out that Israel regularly sends humanitarian aid to Gaza.

@Yair_Rosenberg and by the way, plenty of humanitarian aid flowing from Israel to gaza every day, war or no war.

— Danielle Ziri (@DanielleZiri) April 26, 2015

In February, Roth was criticized after tweeting that Jordan’s execution of jihadi prisoners in response to the Islamic State group’s burning alive of a Jordanian Air Force pilot would only “reinforce” the group’s “callousness toward human life,” a comment which appeared to gloss over the substantial human rights abuses already committed by the group.