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Israel offers to aid California wildfire response, and foot the bill

‘Israel has gone even beyond Canada and Mexico and our closest friends in terms of not only wanting to help, but not wanting to be reimbursed for it,’ Rep. Brad Sherman said

Mario Tama/Getty Images

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 08: The Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center burns shortly after sunrise during the Eaton Fire on January 08, 2025 in Pasadena, California. Over 1,000 structures have burned, with two people dead, in wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds across L.A. County.

The Israeli government has offered to send aid to California to assist with the response to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, which have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least two dozen people, and said it would pay all expenses associated with that assistance, according to a letter obtained by Jewish Insider.

“In light of the deep, long-standing friendship and alliance between our nations, which in recent years has proved itself stronger than ever, we would like to extend our support and help our friends in their time of need,” Raful Engel, the director general of the Israeli Ministry of Public Security said in a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The Israeli official offered to send a delegation of “expert firefighters who specialize in fire and rescue operations to help combat these fires and share their experience in order to minimize the damage inflicted on property and more importantly on human lives.”

Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, said in a statement, “We’re grateful to Israel and many other nations in offering their support to California. Emergency Officials are currently working with our international partners on planning and mobilization.”

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), who represents the area affected by the Pacific Palisades fire, explained that U.S. jurisdictions have existing mutual aid agreements with various countries and other jurisdictions for such emergencies. He said that Israel’s offer to pay all expenses associated with its offered aid is a step above and beyond what those agreements usually entail.

“Israel has offered us help that I very much appreciate, and now they’ve gone one step further and said that they would absorb the entire cost,” Sherman said. “Obviously this fire has lots of moving parts, but Israel has gone even beyond Canada and Mexico and our closest friends in terms of not only wanting to help, but not wanting to be reimbursed for it.”

Sherman added that he believes the Israeli firefighters would be able to bring “skills that I think we need,” and said he’d personally raised the offer with Newsom. 

Sherman said the California government has so far accepted assistance offers from Mexico and Canada, partners it has worked most closely with in the past.

Fire crews from surrounding states are also assisting the response in California.

Lt. Col. Shay Levy, head of the Research and Wildfire Branch at The Israeli National Fire and Rescue Authority, told JI on Wednesday that a delegation of expert firefighters in fire and rescue operations was set to leave for California on Wednesday night to assist the forces there. “We will be glad to help with anything we can, we see great importance in helping to save lives and advance fire safety,” Levy said.

The Israeli NGO SmartAid also said it would dispatch resources to help with the fire response. In addition, IsraAid is offering support, and plans to send personnel to assist.

Sherman described Israel’s offer as particularly generous in the context of the ongoing Houthi attacks, the response to which might require similar resources.

And he said that Israel’s willingness to offer these resources reflects confidence in its security situation and the diminished threat it faces from Hezbollah compared to the pre-Oct. 7 period.

Some anti-Israel activists in the U.S. and the Iranian state-owned outlet Press TV have sought to connect the fires to the war in Gaza, claiming that U.S. aid for Israel is depriving resources from the emergency response, or even that the war is contributing to global warming through increased carbon emissions.

JI Israel Editor Tamara Zieve contributed to this report.

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