If you thought Israel’s medical mission to Haiti after the earthquake was just PR then think again.

There has been a continuous presence there since January this year and now, as the JP reports, in response to the cholera epidemic, Israel is sending a medical unit.

Israel has joined other countries in efforts to help disaster-stricken Haiti with its cholera epidemic and will open a new intensive care unit in the north of the island, reported Israel Radio on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry’s humanitarian aid unit has gathered the necessary equipment for the project and will begin transferring it to Haiti in the coming weeks.

UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said Haiti needs at least a hundred doctors and a thousand nurses to deal with the epidemic. More than 1,000 people have died in Haiti since the outbreak of Cholera five weeks ago.

A year after the earthquake there is little sign of rebuilding. No-one is blockading Haiti and there are no smuggling tunnels to the Dominican Republic. The situation is truly disgraceful and an indictment of the priorities of the UN.

As usual, when it comes to international aid efforts, Israel punches above its weight.