A number of Jewish relief agencies are stepping forward to aid refugees from the Syrian civil war who have fled to Jordan. The left-leaning Israeli broadsheet Ha’aretz reports that a coalition of Jewish agencies will come together under the umbrella label of the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, and will to aid Syrian refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan:

Despite the fact that the JDC and some of the other Jewish organizations involved have offices and operate programs in Israel, the Syrian refugee project will be managed from New York. In its initial stages, it will operate via international NGOs already active in Jordan, both to avoid diplomatic complications and to facilitate work with Syrian civilians, many of whom see Israel as an enemy state. It is not yet clear at this stage whether the JDC or other Jewish organizations will be sending their own teams to work openly in Jordan..

An estimated 150,000 Syrians have fled into the Jordanian camp in the past year.

The aid organizations had first sought to provide assistance to Turkey, but the government there rejected the offer of help. Lebanon is politically and in parts militarily dominated by the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which has conducted global terror operations against Jewish organizations.

The Israeli government has similarly sought to blunt the humanitarian crises cascading out of Syria, and has provided medical care to scores of Syrians who have fled the war torn country.

[Photo: Elgaard / Wiki Commons]