Posted January 9 2008
Genocide and Jews
Last month, there appeared in the Yeshiva University (YU) Commentator an article by Rabbi Aryeh Klapper titled, “Is there a Mitzvah to Prevent Genocide?” The piece talks about different halachic ramifications of allowing a genocide to happen without stepping in and the possibility of going to war over the killing of a community.
A few years ago, while I was a student at YU, I was also the president of a non-profit organization, Not Now Not Ever (NNNE), aimed at stopping the Genocide in Darfur. We were successful in that our efforts at publicizing the actions in Africa led to a national multi-cultural coalition. This coalition, which I was one of the initial members and creators of, eventually turned into the massive Save Darfur organization which has been instrumental in working towards an end to the violence in Darfur.
During NNNE’s founding and subsequent rally marketing blitz I was frequently stopped by other students angrily asking me why I was supporting such a cause when my skills could be put to better use helping Israel in some way. I was shouted at, I was snubbed; there was even an opinion piece in the Commentator about our lack of Jewish unity.
Why all the hubbub?
At the time, there were no pressing social or emergency situation going on in Israel. Of course, it is always important to help your own; halacha even states that in terms of tzedaka you should give your own community and other Jews before outside communities and non-Jews. But there was no more pressing need then (and some say even now) to helping to save thousands, if not millions, of lives from being ended suddenly by genocide.
Jews, almost more than any other sect, must fight hard to keep the “Never Again!” statement alive and well through voice, memory and especially through action. We were all touched somehow by the Holocaust, G-d forbid anything like that should ever occur again under our watch. Yet, it has already a number of times since; in Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Rwanda and now in still Darfur.
Although there is still so much unresolved on the issue of Darfur, there will unfortunately always be another conflict to which our community and the motivated individual can have great impact upon.
Add This Blog to Your Technorati Favorites
Jewish Blog, Jewish, Jewish Leadership, Jewish News, Jewish Values, Jewish Events
3 Comments currently posted. 
Benji Rosenzweig says:
Gadi Ian says:
“At the time, there were no pressing social or emergency situation going on in Israel.”
What a crock! This was 2005. Ever hear of the Disengagement?
Ever hear of organizations like Yad Eliezer that feed tens of thousands of hungry Jews on a regular basis? Ever hear of groups like EFRAT that provide money to Jewish mothers in Israel who were considering abortion because of the financial pressures of having a baby? There were plenty of pressing and emergency situations going on in Israel at the time and there are unfortunately plenty of them going on now as well. You CHOSE to focus instead on Darfur, and that is your right. But do be intellectually honest about it.
Jewneric: A New Platform for the Jewish Voice » Natan Sharansky - Defending Identity says:
[...] and now in Israel and America. The statement that hit home the most with me, and one which I have written about before, was that when he was the unofficial spokesperson for Zionist and Human Rights [...]
I used your slogan regarding doing school work. But seriously Jews have always been involved in these types of campaigns. If you look at the history, we are a huge part of the civil rights movement right here in the USA