Resolution on Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in the Sudan

“In a free society where terrible wrongs exist, some are guilty, all are responsible.”  Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

WHEREAS the decades-long civil war in the Sudan has already taken 2,000,000 lives and there is an ongoing campaign of genocide to wipe out whole communities in the Darfur region;

WHEREAS as victims of genocide during the Shoah who know firsthand the consequences of silence and global indifference, the Jewish people cannot remain indifferent to the plight of those suffering in our time;

WHEREAS the United Nations Commission of Inquiry has recommended that the actions in Darfur be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and possible prosecution and the Rabbinical Assembly has supported the establishment of the ICC (2001 Resolution); and

WHEREAS we have a particular moral responsibility to speak out and take action against ethnic cleansing and genocide.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Rabbinical Assembly encourage the United States and other governments to continue taking action to bring peace and relief to those suffering in the Darfur region of the Sudan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rabbinical Assembly join with other faith groups in urging The United States and other governments who are members of the UN Security Council to support referring the actions in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and possible prosecution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rabbinical Assembly continue its work with the American Jewish World Service, the Save Darfur Coalition and the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief in their work though donations to the Sudan Emergency Appeal of the AJWS and JDC as well as  participation in the political advocacy efforts of these groups; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rabbinical Assembly encourage its members to speak out, write letters, and teach about genocide in the Sudan and our obligations as a Jewish community to respond.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rabbinical Assembly urge its members and their institutions to participate in the 100 Hours of Conscience sponsored by the Save Darfur Coalition on March 17-20, 2005. 

Passed by the Rabbinical Assembly Plenum, March, 2005