Tragedy in Bam

When one sees a tragedy as it what has happened in Bam the first reaction is to help in some way as Michele proposes.

There are other considerations in any decision as Laurence points out here and Meryl expands on here.

The idea is being a jew should I or any jew lift a finger to help any person living in the anti-semitic county of Iran which will accept help from any country in the world except Israel. If I was biblical I might ask "Are there at least ten people in Bam worth saving?"

Not being biblical I say, "if there is one person worth saving should I save them". Can one person make a difference in this world? The answer is yes, one person can make a difference and if sending money to Bam relief I can save that one person who might make a difference then that money is well spent.

Not sending aid will affect us as well. It is the antithesis of everything that america stands for. As americans we are all about helping those not as fortunate and as jews we share those ideals.

The discussion continues as Michele's here and here, at Andrea's and at Mike Sanders.

Update: Ilyka chimes in on this issue.