cjc

Darfur

On May 27, 2010,  Canadian Jewish Congress led a delegation of Jewish, Christian and Muslim volunteers for a remarkable day of Darfur advocacy on Parliament Hill. Over the course of the day, our Darfur Action Committee and partner organizations advanced the cause of Darfur in meetings with over a dozen Members of Parliament, Senators, political staffers and senior public servants. Our volunteers left energized and encouraged, noting that “today, we made a difference.”

Rising in the House of Commons, Hon. Anita Neville (Winnipeg South Centre), praised Canadian Jewish Congress’s Darfur advocacy , noting that, “…In the tradition of the Jewish concept of ‘tikkun olam’, ‘to repair the world’, CJC is joining with STAND Canada, The Darfur/Sudan Peace Network and the SubSahara Centre to advocate for the people of Darfur.” To read her complete statement in the House click here.

Both the English and French media covered our Darfur Action Day. To read English press coverage click here. To read French press coverage click here.

The CJC Darfur Action Committee’s volunteers and our partner organizations developed a succinct policy statement, including three policy recommendations for Darfur and genocide/crimes against humanity. To read our policy statement click here. To read Congress’s Darfur: A Jewish Response click here.

Special thanks goes to volunteer Anna Heilman, a Survivor of both the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz, who joined for the entire day, imploring our Parliamentarians to apply the lessons of the Holocaust to the people of Darfur.

We are always looking for new volunteers for our Darfur Action Committee. No experience is necessary other than a desire to fight genocide! If you are interested in joining, email info@cjc.ca.

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CJC’s Darfur Shabbat Unites Canadian Jewish Community

Canadian Jewish Congress’ Darfur Shabbat was an extraordinary national program uniting Canada’s Jewish community to act against the genocide in Darfur. Dozens of synagogues and Hillels participated from coast-to-coast, with confirmed services in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Windsor, St. Catherines, London, Toronto, Oakville, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, Fredericton and St. John’s. Darfur Shabbat also united the various streams of Judaism, with Independent, Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Chabad/Lubavitch all represented in this unique national program.

Now is the time to take action! To download CJC’s Darfur Shabbat flyer, including three easy things you can do to help, click here. To download CJC’s Darfur: A Jewish Response, click here. To join our Darfur Action Committee, email CanadianJewishCongress@cjc.ca.

Thanks for making Darfur Shabbat such a success! A small selection of sermons and remarks appears below, and more will be posted on our website, at www.cjc.ca/darfur, as they arrive.

Rabbi Martin J. Berman, Shaar Shalom Synagogue, Thornhill, ON

Rabbi Howard Morrison, Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda, Toronto, ON

Rav Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Beth Tzedec Congregation, Toronto, ON

Rabbi Stephen Wise, Shaarei – Beth El Congregation, Oakville, ON

Rabbi Dan Selsberg, Beth Jacob Synagogue, Hamilton, ON

Rabbi Eli Courante, B’nai Israel Congregation, St. Catherines, ON

Rabbi Daniel Elkin, Beth Israel Synagogue, Kingston, ON

Rabbi Yosef Goldman, Sgoolai Israel Synagogue, Fredericton, NB

Ruth Noel, President, Jewish Community Havura, St. John’s NL

Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, Beth Tzedec Congregation, Calgary AB

Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman, Temple B’nai Tikvah, Calgary AB

Jackie Bonisteel, Guest Speaker, Ottawa University Jewish Student Association, Ottawa, ON

Rabbi Mordechai Silberberg, Chabad House at the University of Western Ontario, London, ON

 

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On November 8, 2009, Mia Farrow launched Canadian Jewish Congress’s Darfur: A Jewish Response at a press event in Toronto. Darfur: A Jewish Response is an outstanding resource for Canada’s Jewish community to engage in meaningful advocacy on the most important humanitarian issue facing the world today. Email CanadianJewishCongress@cjc.ca to join us!

Click here to download a copy Darfur: A Jewish Response

Click below to view the video of our interview with Mia Farrow discussing  the crisis in Darfur and our role as a Jewish Community.

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Since 2003, a Sudanese Government backed militia called the Janjaweed has waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide against black African tribes in Darfur, in western Sudan. Up to 400,000 men, women and children have died. A further 2 million people have fled their homes, with 200,000 living in refugee camps in neighbouring Chad and the remaining languishing in camps for internally displaced persons in Darfur.  Thousands of small farming villages have been leveled, and four million people are dependent on international food aid.

To stand idly by and watch would be to deny Judaism’s core concept of tikkun olam- to repair the world.  Putting our Jewish values into practice means advocating for the world’s most vulnerable.  As Canadian Jews, we are in a unique position to help make a difference in the lives of the Darfuri people.  The silence and international indifference to the plight of Jews in the Holocaust remains all too fresh in our collective memory not to take a stand on Darfur.

Canadian Jewish Congress is taking a stand.  For instance, Congress organized a national lobby day on Parliament Hill on Yom HaShoah ve HaGevurah, Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism Day, when Members of Parliament wore a Green Ribbon in a powerful statement against the genocide in Darfur.  This was followed by a discussion in the House of Commons solely on the Darfur crisis.  This rare show of unity among Canada’s four political parties received national and international media attention.  Congress has also led petitions and letter-writing campaigns, as well as the Green Ribbon Campaign. During the 2008 Federal election campaign, we sent a letter to all candidates asking all parties to maximize Canada’s efforts toward ending the strife in Darfur.

Congress has a robust Darfur Action Committee composed of volunteers from across the country whoare dedicated to making a difference on Darfur.  We always need new, dedicated volunteers to help our Darfur Action Committee.  Email

 Articles on Darfur