Because They Did Not Shelter Us When We Fled from Europe (July 3rd, 2007)Because they did not shelter us when we fled from Europe. Because barely 65 years ago we were slaughtered. Because the State of Israel was established so that this will never happen again. Because in the Jewish State the value of life is the ultimate value. Because as humans we must help the downtrodden. Because we can show the world how it should be done. Hard to believe. The State of Israel in the year 2007 is turning its back on more than one thousand refugees escaping from the killing fields in Sudan... |
Would you have Considered Amnesty to Hitler to Save a Million Jews? (May 2nd, 2007)A new generation has fallen victim to the atrocities of a genocide. Citizens of the world have met the cries of Darfuri victims with campaigns shouting "Never Again." As a Jew, this haunting phrase inevitably harkens back to the Holocaust. In January I accompanied Governor Bill Richardson, of New Mexico, on a delegation to Sudan. Our mission was to establish a concrete, yet attainable, plan for peace in the Darfur region. In Khartoum we sat with President Omar Hassan Al Bashir, a man many have likened to a modern day Hitler. A question arose in my mind, should this man be granted amnesty in order to save the lives of one million people? |
Darfuri Rebels are no Saints Either (April 10th, 2007)Human nature often encourages us to view the world through a lens of good and evil. In world conflict we often apply this method to simplify issues. By identifying who the "superheroes" and the "villains" are we make the process of choosing sides less of an ethical conundrum. As witnessed in the current crisis in Darfur, reality is much more nuanced and complex than this superhero model. My experience as a member of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's delegation to Sudan, last January, made this point abundantly clear. As is the case in most major conflicts, almost all relevant parties in Darfur have blood on their hands... |
The Arab summit and kick-starting peace in Darfur (March 29th, 2007)Co Authored with Amjad Atallah After four years of genocide in Darfur, the world continues to try managing a conflict in desperate need of resolution. Today, the Arab League will issue a final statement at its summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has recently been the primary engine of Arab diplomatic engagement on several important issues in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia helped provide a forum for averting a Palestinian civil war, continues to work to promote stability in Lebanon, and has recently had contacts with Iran to slow the region's slide into even greater conflict. It is once again promoting the 2002 Arab peace plan, which offered Israel normal relations with the Arab states in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Arab territories, acceptance of a Palestinian state, and a resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue... |
A Roadmap to Saving Darfur (January 20th, 2007)After four years of explicit genocide in Darfur, the world finally seems to be turning their attention to this war-torn region in Western Sudan. Although seemingly hopeless, there is a way, a map to end this crisis. A generation does not have to grow-up behind the barriers of refugee camps, but should be able to make the trip home, escorted by the international community, and welcomed by their own government. The first is genocide, and second is the local tribal conflict. The genocide is the systemic targeting of the civilian population in Darfur by the armed, trained, and government-supported militias - the Janjaweed. This genocide can be stopped. More importantly, it must be stopped. The local tribal conflict has been ongoing for many years. Tensions over access to basic resources, such as water and food, created feuding between nomadic tribes and villagers... |
In the Face of Genocide: The Miracle of Survival (October 2005)I believe in the power of miracles. I believe that we are capable of witnessing the multitude of miracles on a daily basis - even in the midst of the worst of atrocities. As a Jew and an Israeli, but most importantly as a member of the human family, my moral compass guided me to the Sudanese Refugee Camps in Chad, Africa this past October. It is for this reason that I am compelled to write to you. I went to witness the strengths and struggles, the hope and faith, the community and individuality, of each of the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees in Chad. Together we can affect change in the heart of this global disaster. Together we can take a vow to turn our ears and hearts toward these remarkable people...
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