IDF aid delegation to Japan takes a quick break to entertain the local children, residents of Minamisanriku, who experienced deep losses from the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. Photo: wiki commons.

Two years after a tsunami devastated the eastern seaboard of Japan, the people of Minamisanriku,  inaugurated a statue Tuesday honoring the assistance Israel provided the city following the tragic event.

Titled “Rebirth and Resurrection,” according to website Israel Today the statue was produced by Israeli artist David Susanna, and was installed in front of the municipal offices and temporary Israeli hospitals established in the city. The new sculpture is meant to symbolize Israeli solidarity with the suffering of the Japanese people.

Israel was one of the first countries to offer its help to Japan in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. The IDF sent an aid delegation to Minamisanriku that erected a field clinic featuring a pediatrics ward, a surgical ward and a pharmacy among other offerings. The clinic’s first patient was the mayor of Minamisanriku, who was injured during the tsunami.