Pictured Above: Floodwaters engulf homes in Port Arthur, Texas on Aug 30. Credit: CNN

(JNS.org) Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry announced Monday that it is “advancing a plan” for $1 million in emergency aid for Houston’s Jewish community following the damage inflicted by Hurricane Harvey.

“The city of Houston was hurt badly last week, and the Jewish community, 70 percent of which lived in the flooded neighborhoods, was hit hard,” said Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett said. “From talks we’ve had over the past week with the heads of the community and Israel’s consul general, we learned the damage is vast, and the rehabilitation will take years. For years the Jewish communities stood by Israel when it needed their help; now it is our turn to stand by Houston’s Jewish community.”

The forthcoming aid will be transferred through the local Israeli Consulate in Houston and will “be used to help repair and restore the communal infrastructure (schools, synagogues and JCC) which are not funded or supported by the state [of Texas],” according to the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.

“The Jewish state is measured by its response when our brothers around the world are in crisis,” said Bennett.

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