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May 10, 2005
Not Now Not Ever
Mary has a short report on the rally in Central Park on Sunday against the genocide in the Sudan. It got a respectable crowd, considering that it took place on Mother's Day. The rally was generated by a group of students at Yeshiva University, and there were many references to Jewish values from the podium and many kippot and tzitzit in the crowd. (Of course, the so-called social justice groups that staged the May Day rally in Union Square were nowhere to be seen.)I guess this is the kind of thing that "Gandhi" and his friends find extremely suspect. I mean, why would Jews want to make a big deal about some genocide in Africa, hmmmmm? Well, "Gandhi" is part of the Juan Cole fan club, and Juan has the answer (scroll down past the first two quotes). Of course, if Jews ignored any of these human rights tragedies, we would be accused of only caring about our own (which we are routinely accused of anyway, in spite of mounds of evidence to the contrary). When we do speak out against oppression, we are accused of having ulterior motives.
I am glad this group is increasing visibility on this issue, but most of the exhortations to action involved letter writing. Not real useful at this point. The US government is doing everything we can short of unilaterally invading, and I doubt that letters to the heads of the UN, France, China, and Saudi Arabia will be effective. (I mention the latter because it has been pointed out that this is a great opportunity for the Guardian of the Umma to demonstrate how all Muslims care and protect each other, and how all Muslims are equal regardless of race and ethnicity. Sheeeeyah right.)
Also, I don't know the details of rally permits in NYC, but in the best of all possible worlds this protest would have been held in front of the UN building, the Saudi embassy, or the Sudan embassy, not in Central Park. Oh well, I'm sure it won't be the last. It certainly wasn't the first. Mary blogged the mostly-African rally in front of the UN last September, and I blogged the one in Washington Square Park last December.
UPDATE: Via Scott, a writeup in the NY Sun, and Allthings2All is looking to put together a blogburst on this topic. Send him your URL by Saturday night May 14th.
UPDATE: One of the speakers at the rally was from Human Rights Watch. Stop laughing. No, really, he said "Muslim Arab slavetraders" and "Chinese oil interests" and other factual but politically incorrect things. He described what is really going on in the Sudan. I was impressed. OTOH hand, Human Rights Watch says things like this, so I wouldn't count on them to carry the ball.
Judith | 05/10/05 at 08:16 AM | Categories: Life and how to live it
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Comments
The one at Harvard when Kofi Annan spoke at graduation last year had a similarly high kippah-and-tzizis rate. I wish that weren't the case, and I wish Charles Jacobs weren't simultaneously the most prominent activist on the anti-slavery front and pestering anti-Israel professors at Columbia. Whether it should or shouldn't make a difference, it does make it easier to dismiss the Sudan issue as "Zionist propaganda".But I don't see where you or I not showing up would do the Fur any good -- the real solution would be for at least a tiny part of the "justice" contingent to give a damn about Sudan. Which, as you point out, has yet to happen. Of course, should military force ever be used there, the people protesting that action will be insisting that they've been demonstrating against Khartoum all along, just like with those anti-Saddam demonstrations they were all supposedly at in the 70's and 80's.(In fact, I think Charles Jacobs should pass on the David Project stuff. (It is the same guy, right?) There's plenty of people to do hasbara, and the damage it does to his fantastic work on Africa far outweighs any benefits.)
JSinger | May 10, 2005 04:13 PM
Hi - found it! Thanks.
Catez | May 11, 2005 08:46 AM
It seems that Charles Jacobs is fighting anti-Israel attitudes and Arab enslavement of blacks because these are two parts of the same problem; the influence of Shariah laws and Wahhabi Islam around the world. The Khartoum government is ruled by Shariah laws, and it's an Islamic state. Palestinian terrorists hope to establish an Islamic state with Shariah laws, and the Columbia professors are paid with generous donations from Saudi Wahhabis.Under the Wahhabi interpretation of Shariah, slavery is allowed, genocide and terrorism are encouraged, and an apartheid system is believed to be required by Allah. These are laws that are on the books in Saudi Arabia and in the Sudan, and in some cases they're more extreme than the laws and the philosophies that motivated the Nazis. These are the laws that inspire groups like Hamas. These Palestinian goals are promoted and sold to the students by some professors at Columbia.The fascism that motivates the anti-Israel teachers at Columbia is the same fascism that motivates the genocide and slavery in the Sudan. You can't fight one while ignoring the other.
maryatexitzero | May 11, 2005 09:43 AM
Judith, thanks for posting this info.
shoshanna | May 11, 2005 10:35 AM
Trackback from Allthings2all:The Darfur CollectionExcerpt: The Darfur Collection brings together various writers who share a common concern for the people of Darfur and a desire to see an end to the suffering and genocide in Sudan. The contributions here are diverse...
Catez | May 16, 2005 01:21 PM
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