Darfur

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Reader: Regarding your recent launch of JewsForDarfur.com, Darfur is a sad state of ongoing genocide, which is prohibited by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was championed by Eleanor Roosevelt.

Kofi Anon and the UN have done very little.

Money sent to Darfur by the U.S. would be diverted by the corrupt officials in Africa who would be asked to help these people.

We would be criticized if we sent troops as peace keepers or peace makers. So should we send contractors?   We tried to help in Somalia and received a licking from the local suicide car bombers. 

Somalis rejected our help. 

There is no oil in Darfur.  The locals have been fighting for centuries. There is no reason for us to interfere.  We are not the world’s policemen.

Rabbi Reuven Mann: You raise some very good points. The complexities involved in seeking to resolve the tragic situation in Darfur are indeed daunting. One should be cognizant of the problems and realistic about the possibilities. However, this should not result in a sense of despair or hopelessness. There is a danger of focusing exclusively on the negatives and using them to justify a defeatist attitude. There is much good that can be done, many lives that can be saved, if there is a spirit of hope and determination fueled by our love of God and of His creatures. Indeed, we realize our limitation and acknowledge that Divine assistance is needed in order too fulfill our mission. We believe that when we act in accordance with the Torah’s teachings and when our deeds and motives find favor in His sight, then He will help to bring our efforts to fruition. As the verse states, “And David was wise in all his doings, and God was with him”