washington | The Jewish community is facing resistance as it attempts to intensify pressure on the Sudanese government to ease the ethnic violence that has killed tens of thousands.
Several Jewish community activists said they were not finding much interest in the issue when they tried to partner with African American groups or church organizations.
Instead, American Jewish groups have turned to international organizations such as the United Nations, European Union and African Union to halt the killings and help those who have fled the fighting in the African nation and flocked to refugee camps.
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, said he led a coalition that met with ambassadors of African Union countries, asking them to increase the number of troops in Sudan and protect innocents as well as humanitarian workers.
Saperstein said some progress has been made in expanding the African Union’s mission to include protecting innocents.
John Prendergast, special adviser to the president of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit agency, said there has not been one U.N. or other international punitive measure levied against Sudan in 23 months.
“The message is as clear as it can come,” he told Jewish Council for Public Affairs and Hillel delegates Feb. 27. “You can kill as many people as you want. There will be no repercussions.”
The government has exploited ethnic tensions, sponsoring Arab militias that have killed tens of thousands of Africans in Sudan. Experts estimate that more than 1 million people have fled the violence and most are now in refugee camps in neighboring Chad.
The issue played a large role in the JCPA plenum last week in Washington, capturing the support of Jewish community relations councils.
“This is genocide,” said Martin Raffel, JCPA associate executive director for international concerns. “If there’s a genocide happening, how can this not be at the top of our agenda?”
The JCPA also passed several other resolutions on foreign policy issues.
Language that backed $350 million in U.S. aid to the Palestinians was added to a bill expressing support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The measure was approved unanimously.
The plenum also approved a resolution expressing concern over Iranian efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and urged the United States and international community to use “appropriate means” to combat the threat. Original language that suggested military intervention as an option was deleted.
The Reform movement is expected to broach the topic on March 13, when it opens its biannual Consultation on Conscience.