Notations On Our World (Special W-End Edition): On Disasters, #Florence & Being Prepared

As the weekend looms, our team chose these two thoughts to underscore some of the key philosophies that has driven us throughout our tenure as we celebrate our latest anniversary of service.   We are grateful for the continued opportunity to serve!!

Please note this courtesy of the team at FEMA as the Carolinas continue to grapple with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence--the need to be prepared is every so critical as we wish all the very best of weekends:

September 20, 2018 In this issue: National Test of the Emergency Alert System Rescheduled for October 3, 2018 Save For an Emergency During National Preparedness Month Steps for Cleaning Up After a Hurricane Emergency Planning Curriculum for Elementary Schools Important Dates to Remember National Test of the Emergency Alert System Rescheduled for October 3, 2018 Due to the ongoing response to Hurricane Florence, the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) will now be conducted on the backup date of October 3, 2018. October 3 was the previously scheduled back-up date for the test, which was originally set for Thursday, September 20. A backup date is always planned in case of widespread severe weather or other significant events on the primary test date. The WEA portion of the test will start at 2:18 p.m. EDT on October 3, and the EAS portion will follow at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test, being held in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether technological improvements are needed. For further information on the test, go to www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-test. back to top Save For an Emergency During National Preparedness Month Can your finances weather an emergency? The final week of National Preparedness Month (NPM) 2018 begins on Sunday, September 23. Each week NPM focuses on a different action. The theme for September 23-30 is, “Save For an Emergency.” 40 percent of all Americans do not have $400 in savings according to the Federal Reserve. Become financially prepared for an emergency by following these steps from the Ready Campaign: Plan financially for the possibility of disaster. Complete an Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK). Maintain emergency savings for use in case of an emergency. Take action to prepare this September! You can find resources, including the NPM social media toolkit, at www.ready.gov/september. back to top Steps for Cleaning Up After a Hurricane After a hurricane, it is important to know how to clean up safely. Listen to local authorities to determine when it is safe for you to return home. Do not return home until local officials indicate it is safe to do so. Stay vigilant and monitor radio or TV stations for local emergency management officials’ guidance. Ensure water is safe to drink, cook, or clean with after flooding. Often local officials put a boil water order in place following a flood or hurricane. Remember, never run a generator inside your home, and keep it away from windows, doors, and vents. Tips from FEMA for clean-up after returning home: Always wear protective clothing including long-sleeved shirts, long pants, rubber or plastic gloves and waterproof boots or shoes. Before entering your home, look outside for damaged power lines, gas lines, and other exterior damage. Take photos of your damage before you begin to clean up and save repair receipts. Get rid of mold. Mold may have contaminated your home, which raises the health risk for those with asthma, allergies, and breathing conditions. Open doors and windows so your house can air out before spending any length of time inside. Turn off main electrical power and water systems and do not use gas appliances until a professional can ensure they are safe. Check all ceilings and floors for signs of sagging or other potentially dangerous structural damage. Throw out all foods, beverages, and medicines exposed to flood waters or mud, including canned goods and containers with food or liquid. Throw out any items that absorb water and you cannot clean or disinfect (i.e. mattresses, carpeting, stuffed animals, etc.). Beware of snakes, insects, and other animals that may be on your property or in your home. Remove all drywall and insulation that has been in contact with floodwaters. Clean all hard surfaces (flooring, countertops, appliances, sinks, etc.) thoroughly with hot water and soap or detergent. To learn more about what to do after a flood or a hurricane, visit Ready.gov/floods, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Flood Water After an Emergency or Disaster. If you experienced a flood or other damages due to recent hurricane activity, please visit www.disasterassistance.gov to register for federal assistance.  back to top Emergency Planning Curriculum for Elementary Schools Teach emergency preparedness in your grade school with Student Tools for Emergency Planning (STEP). STEP provides a ready-to-teach classroom-based course for fourth- and fifth-graders. The students will study disasters. They will learn how to build a supply kit and how to create a family emergency communication plan.  STEP materials include: STEP Overview Instructor Guide Student Activity Book Disaster Dodgers Video Series You can order the STEP materials for free. Visit Ready.gov/Youth-Preparedness to learn more. back to top Important Dates to Remember September – National Preparedness Month October – National Cyber Security Awareness Month October 3 at 2:18 p.m. ET - FEMA’s Nationwide EAS and WEA Test October 18 at 10:18 a.m. – Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills back to top Disclaimer: The reader recognizes that the federal government provides links and informational data on various disaster preparedness resources and events and does not endorse any non-federal events, entities, organizations, services, or products. Please let us know about other events and services for individual and community preparedness that could be included in future newsletters by contacting FEMA-prepare@fema.dhs.gov. Contact Us EMAIL: FEMA-prepare@fema.dhs.gov   |   TWITTER: @Citizen_Corps

 

Notations On Our World (@POTUS Edition): On The "Law and Order” President on Collusion and Kavanaugh: A Closer Look

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): On Breaking the Silence

For this week, our team chose this we received from a very courageous group of individuals who have tried to truly "Break the Silence".    We salute them:

Dear friends, We are writing to update you about events that took place over the weekend during our tour of the South Hebron Hills. This past Friday, we conducted an educational tour of the South Hebron Hills. The aim of the tour was, as always, to see the reality of the occupation and learn about it, as well as to show our support for the Taayush activists who were violently attacked by settlers in the outpost of Mitzpe Yair, the previous weekend. About 120 people from all over Israel joined the tour, and dozens of organizations, public figures, and Members of Knesset all lent their voices of support to it. The tour, however, was cut short when security forces blocked us from our regular lookout point next to the Mitzpe Yair outpost. They also arrested and detained Avner Gvaryahu, our Executive Director; Achiya Schatz, our Director of Communications; and Michael Sfard, our legal advisor and a renowned human right lawyer, for three hours.

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'Watch the arrest of Breaking the Silence's activists

So what happened exactly? As we made our way to the Hebron area, we were stopped by security forces, who issued a “reduction order” (that is, an official order whose goal is to decrease the number of people in a given area), intended to prevent our tours from taking place. We soon realized that the order applied not only to our buses traveling to the South Hebron Hills. It also affected another one of our buses heading to a tour in the city of Hebron (which was coordinated, as always, with the necessary authorities) and an additional bus of another organization, All That’s Left, which was on its way to Umm il-Kheir. Because of this, and since this type of order is incredibly rare, we are left to assume that the order was meant to reduce the movement and presence of leftists alone. After we spoke with the security forces and convinced them that there was no justification for issuing such an order, each bus was permitted to proceed, and the tour to Hebron continued as planned. The tour to the South Hebron Hills continued on to a visit in Susya with Nasser Nawaj'a, a resident of the village, and from there we headed to the lookout point next near Mitzpe Yair - the same spot where activists from Taayush were violently attacked the previous week. This lookout point has been a regular feature of our tours for many years, and since we had been in touch with the brigade and had not been told at any stage that our route needed to be changed, we continued in that direction as part of our usual path. As we drove up the road leading to the outpost, we were blocked by a Border Police jeep. Within minutes, we were presented with a “closed military zone” order, signed by the brigade commander. We were given one minute to evacuate a group of 120 participants, some of whom weren't so young. When we asked for more time to get everyone on the buses, the arrests started.

MK Mossi Raz: “It was sad to see the army working for the settlers, and it was sad to accompany my friends who were arrested until their release a few hours later. It was sad to realize that in the territories there are three legal systems: one for settlers, a different one for Palestinians, and a third for leftists. It is sad to see individual liberties shrinking, freedom of thought disappearing, and our democracy destroyed. What started in the occupied territories will surely end up seeping into Israel.” Former Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair: "Two people from Breaking the Silence and Attorney Michael Sfard have been detained. The lieutenant colonel refuses to release them and won’t speak with me. [...] This is not the Israel Defense Forces. This is the Settlements Defense Forces. And all of this - from our tax money. It is very interesting that the army and the Border Police did not demonstrate such efficiency last weekend in defending the members of Taayush, who were severely beaten by the “innocent people” of Mitzpe Yair, in the presence of the army.”

As was reported in the media, the arrests were aimed at the leaders of the tour, which reinforced our suspicion that they were innitially meant to sabotage the tour. Despite this all, the tour did not stop. The participants wanted to stay and hear more about the reality of the occupation in the South Hebron Hills. While waiting for the detainees, they had the opportunity to hear from Taayush activist Dr. Amiel Vardi, who shared his knowledge of the area and also spoke about the attack he experienced the previous weekend. Later, as an expression of solidarity and support for the detainees, many of the participants came along with us to pick them up from the police station. Upon arriving at the police station, Avner, Achiya, and Michael had been told that they were in fact not arrested but rather detained, and that there was no immediate need for investigations or arrests. They were then told to return in a month and a half for further investigation.

We would like to thank J Street, T'ruah, Yachad, INN, and other organizations and individuals that support us.  As Avner Gvaryahu stated, we have no intention to give up, and we will continue to hold our tours in the South Hebron Hills and expose the public to the reality of the occupation. Unlike the Hebron brigade commander, we refuse to cave in to settler violence and to surrender to their intimidation, incitement, and violence directed against those who oppose the immoral reality of the occupied territories.