The Jewish-Sudanese Connection
June 18, 2007
Hundreds of refugees from Sudan are desperately trying to escape the brutal genocide in Darfur by slipping in to Israel. They are technically from the Islamic "enemy state" of Sudan. It is illegal for them to stay in Israel, but there is a move among Israelis and Christian ex-pats living in Jerusalem to allow the Darfuri families asylum. Some South Sudanese families are already living and working on kibbutzim.
(The Jerusalem Post has a very good article about this: "Int'l Christian Embasy in Jerusalem Aiding Sudanese.")
There seems to be a special connection between the Jewish community and the refugees of Darfur. Many of those concerned identify with the plight of the victims of genocide, harkening back to World War II when millions of Jews were killed in the holocaust. The resolve among today's Jewish activists is so strong to make sure genocide is stamped out today that they are fighting to help MUSLIMS in Darfur. Suffering knows no ethnicity or religion…only it feeds off of human beings for aren't we all at our cores human beings? None of us is immune.
Back in April of 2006, I covered the Save Darfur Rally in Washington, DC. Sprinkled throughout the audience were Israeli flags and young people wearing shirts with Hebrew on them. Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel was one of the main speakers.
Hillel-a college campus organization for Jewish students-has been particularly active in raising awareness on college campuses around the U.S.
The Hillel web site says…
"As a people intimately acquainted with the horrors of genocide, it is our responsibility to never forget the Holocaust and to apply its lessons to our own time. The people of Darfur are asking us to never forget. As Jews, human beings, and global citizens, we must take action now."
The American Jewish World Service has also launched the Darfur Action Campaign.
Perhaps the mantra "Never Again" and "Not on Our Watch" that has sprung out of the ashes of the holocaust will help to save many Sudanese in the future.
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