In response to the 1,713 forest fires and urban blazes that devastated Israel last week, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is asking fellow citizens to pitch in for the recovery. On his SF Gives Back website, Lee’s office put up a link to the Jewish National Fund donation page, urging people to give.
The web page (SFgivesback.org) noted that the fires left thousands homeless, especially in the northern city of Haifa, which is one of San Francisco’s sister cities.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected by the fires that have struck our sister city Haifa, Israel,” he wrote. “San Francisco stands ready to support and assist its efforts to recover and rebuild.”
Last April, Lee made his first official visit to Israel, which included several days in Haifa, where he toured the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Bahai Gardens and other sites.
Lee launched SF Gives Back in 2011 in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. — dan pine