Fresh Updates from RAC

Every time I go to a wedding, a celebration of a new beginning, I always struggle with what I should get the new couple. Do I give something sentimental, something Jewish, something practical, or just a good old fashioned toaster? Well, as it marks the creation of the brand new country of the Republic of South Sudan, the United States has a smiliar question to deal with.
The Republic of Sudan did not show up over night. After two decades of war, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 was signed, supported by the Bush Administration and in particular Secretary Colin Powell. This paved the way for the peaceful referendum on South Sudan’s independence this past January, supported by the Obama Administration. On July 9th, it was with great excitement that the world welcomed the creation of the Republic of South Sudan. It is a joyful occasion for the people of South Sudan, who after two decades of war will now have their future in their own hands.

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The opportunities afforded to me as an intern at Save Darfur Coalition/Genocide Intervention Network have provided a breadth of education unavailable in a traditional classroom setting. Recently, I had the chance to attend a Schieffer Series discussion held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The panelists – David Ignatius of The Washington Post, Nancy Youssef of McClatchy Newspapers and Jon Alterman of CSIS – updated the audience about the current volatile situations around the globe. In just over an hour, they touched upon the situations in Libya, Syria and Egypt and the changing relationships within the Arab world.

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Laura Heaton is the writer/editor of the Enough Project Blog and is reporting from Abyei in Sudan.
This post originally appeared on the Enough Project Blog and the security blog at Think Progress

Achol’s face and neck were dotted with white burns from the sparks of a cluster bomb. Her daughter, one-year-old Nyibach, suffered from the same painful sores. Achol’s family, which includes four other children who went missing in the chaos of the recent attack, is from Abyei, the hotly contested region on Sudan’s North-South border.
Deploying Antonov planes and fighter jets, ground troops, tanks, and government-aligned militias, the Sudanese government’s military offensive late last month in Abyei displaced upwards of 100,000 people. Abyei’s leaders, themselves displaced along with the majority of the area’s Ngok Dinka residents, estimated that 116 civilians were killed, but the death toll is difficult to determine because the government has restricted access.

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In Abyei, an area about the size of the Island of Hawaii, the delicate peace agreement between Northern and Southern Sudan, could fall to pieces. This border area between the North and the South, which was left to be figured out later in the negotiations, has become the focal point for whether or not peace will happen. In an alarming turn, the northern army, with militias, has invaded Abyei. There have been reports of wide spread looting, including even some humanitarian agencies’ warehouses. Additionally, shelling has hit the UN headquarters, causing critical aid distribution to be halted.

This is a violation of the peace agreement and has lead to 40,000 people being forced to flee their homes. The people of Southern Sudan have a right to live free from the indicted war criminal President Bashir as they voted to do in the January referendum. The international community must demand the removal of troops immediately and for the two sides to come to an agreement over this oil rich area. For the first time in decades, the hope for peace in Southern Sudan is alive, but this moment could unravel so much hard work.

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Joel Simonds is Assistant Rabbi at University Synagogue in Los Angeles, CA. Ordained from the Hebrew Union College in 2009, he is passionate about Spirituality and Social Justice and serves on the National Board of ARZA.
I am a human being. I have eyes that have seen images of the victims and read about the atrocities. I have ears with which I have heard stories of the horrors. I have hands that have touched the shoulders of men who have been displaced from their murdered children and raped wives. From my head to my feet, I am disgusted with the crimes against humanity that have been raging for years in Darfur and Congo.
This past Shabbat, as I watched the news of our bombing in Libya, I was shocked. As our country joins other nations to intervene with military force in the struggle in Libya, I am pained by a nagging question. Why did we act so fast here, while, with millions murdered and attacked in Darfur and Congo, we done so little.

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Yesterday, I attended an event at the Capitol celebrating the completion of the Southern Sudanese referendum on independence and thanking all the congressional leaders who were involved in efforts to ensure a peaceful outcome. It was an exciting moment to see how we can help create positive change in the world.
One of the best ways for the U.S and Canada to create positive change is through foreign aid, especially to areas that need it so desperately like Darfur. The House of Representatives is expected to vote TOMORROW on unprecedented budget cuts for international humanitarian aid. Just how much is at stake? $1.7 billion dollars of life-saving humanitarian aid is on the chopping block — funding that directly impacts the lives of millions of Sudanese and Darfuri people.

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It is with great excitement that I tell you that the referendum vote count has finished in Southern Sudan. The chairman of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, which organized the vote and includes members from both supporters and opponents of independence, said 98.83% have voted for separation. Yesterday, Rabbi Saperstein said this in a press release.
“Today, Southern Sudan has finished counting the votes in the referendum for their independence. It is with cautious optimism that we look towards the future for a peaceful Sudan; a Sudan with out destruction, rape, and death. The people of Sudan have endured some of the world’s most horrendous violence, including a two decade long horrendous brutal civil war in the South and the ethnic cleansing in Darfur and it is time for us to work together to bring stability to this region of Africa.”

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George Clooney has done it again. He has raised his voice for Sudan and brought the world’s attention to this troubled area. Yet, this is a little different then the traditional letter to the editor or a meeting with a congressman. Let me explain
Imagine you’re George Clooney. I know. Don’t we all wish.) Every day, thousands of people on Google maps search for your house and can zoom in and see that one tile on your roof that you have been meaning to fix for months, but just haven’t gotten a chance to fix. Inspired by the kind of intense scrutiny that celebrities often chafe under, George Clooney, Google, the Enough Project, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and others have joined together to create the Satellite Sentential Project.

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