The Crisis in Darfur, Sudan
By Josh Marks    December 1, 2005


"We concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility and genocide may still be occurring." -- Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking to Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 9, 2004.

With the experience of the Holocaust and a history of oppression, the international Jewish community has mobilized to help publicize the tragedy of Darfur and take action to help end the violence that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and displaced around 2 million people from their homes.

Since early 2003, the Janjaweed ("armed men on horseback"), a government-backed armed militia group of Arab fighters, have systematically raped, tortured, murdered and forcibly expelled countless African tribal farming communities in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

American Jewish World Service president Ruth Messinger, speaking at the Jewish Federation on a recent visit to Los Angeles, called the situation grim.

"There is no clear future for the people of Darfur," said Messinger. "There is every reason to believe that violence in this part of the world is getting worse."

According to Messinger the ongoing effort to save Darfur is only supported in the community, otherwise it becomes overwhelming for one individual.

Rabbi Howard Laibson of Temple Israel in Long Beach is an example of someone in the local Jewish community who is taking action. The genocide in Darfur was first brought to his attention a year ago last summer when he read an article by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof describing the horrific acts perpetrated by the Janjaweed militia and Sudanese army.

Rabbi Laibson saw text-based and historical reasons why specifically the Jewish community should respond.

"Clearly there have been many times the Jewish people have been oppressed and we should have a special sense of compassion for others that are oppressed. That is what Torah teaches us when told to be compassionate to strangers because we were strangers in Egypt and many lands since," said Laibson.

After reading the article, Rabbi Laibson gave a Yom Kippur sermon and subsequently a Darfur Task Force formed and Temple Israel members were writing letters after Shabbat evening services to members of congress and others in government urging them to become involved in saving the people of Darfur. People really started to get motivated when Justin Arena, a college student at USC, came to hear activist Rabbi Lee Bycel speak about Darfur at Temple Israel. Arena was moved by the speech and spoke to Bycel about getting more involved. He went to Darfur and came back passionate about helping out and spoke at the temple a couple of times. He reenergized the task force and motivated more people to become involved in the response.

"I hope everyone in the Jewish community will recognize how important it is to stop this genocide," said Laibson.

For Messinger the problem of Darfur and the challenges of getting people in the Jewish community to respond stems from a larger issue.

"Jews in the 21st century need to assume the responsibility as global citizens. ... We have a responsibility as Jews, a text-based responsibility and a contemporary responsibility to pay attention to the problems of poverty, hunger, oppression and illness around the world."

For more information about Darfur, Sudan and how to become involved visit the American Jewish World Service website at www.ajws.org or visit the Save Darfur Coalition website at www.savedarfur.org.



Josh Marks is writer/editor for the southern California birthright israel alumni association website. His day job is with Variety, the trade publication for the entertainment industry. He also writes movie reviews, covers local sports and interviews local businesses for community newspapers in Long Beach and Santa Monica.