Speaking of Darfur...

Darfuri refugee camp in Chad


Today, I put up a sarcastic piece on Senator Dianne Feinstein's response to me in connection to a letter I had sent regarding Darfur. Setting sarcasm aside, the tragedy in Darfur not only must be rectified, but also stands in stark contrast to those who daily accuse Israel of genocide and other human rights abuses against Palestinians. For the record, I do not believe those who say Israel is embarked on a campaign of genocide against anybody. More to the point, however, the comparsion between Darfur and Israel highlights the utter hypocrisy of Israel's enemies.

In Sudan, we have a truly evil government, led by Omar al-Bashir, who is basically an international outlaw, persecuting groups who have opposed the government. One target was the black, Christian or animist groups who were connected to a 2003 revolt, then it was the Darfuris, in Western Sudan, who are also Muslim. (The designation of black vs Arab is a complicated one in a country with intermarriage and mixing of tribes.) Today, the situation in Darfur is catastrophic as people in refugee camps fight to stay alive; various relief agencies try to do their work while pro-government Janjaweed militias attack, kill, rape, pillage and plunder. It is the worst human-rights situation in the world today.

Yet, the world-largely represented by the feckless UN- seems largely paralyzed. One wonders why. One wonders why the UN largely wrings its hands. One wonders why black leaders are not outraged and demanding swift action to take out this genocidal government in a 4th-rate nation called Sudan and save millions of (black) lives. Where are the voices of the Muslim word since this is happening in a mostly Muslim country.

I think I just answered my own question.

Therein lies the answer. You see, this is a case where the perpetrators are Muslims, the victims have over the last several years, been a mix of Muslims (Darfuris) and non-Muslims. So why focus on a situation where Muslims are the perpetrators-even if most of their victims are now also Muslims? Too messy.

No, much better to ostracize Israel-that tiny Jewish country in a sea of Muslim nations all hell-bent on her destruction. Much easier to accuse Israel of genocide, apartheid and other human-rights abuses. Of course, there are no gas chambers in Israel, no Einsatztruppen or Janjaweed marching behind IDF lines massacring innocent civilians. No matter. We'll accuse them of that anyway. How easy it is for Hamas and Hizbollah to fight behind human shields in schools and hospitals then scream bloody murder when inevitably, innocent civilians are killed in the cross-fire-especially when they have a compliant western news media who will run with any accusation no matter how wild.

"Genocide". "Israel is a racist state." (Ask the Haitians if they believe that statement.)

But back to Sudan. Do we see Darfuris attacking Kharthoum? No. Are Darfuris lobbing rockets into school yards in Kharthoum? No. Are Darfuris or black Christians/animists strapping on suicide bombs and blowing themselves up in Kharthoum pizza parlors? No.

Where is the international demand that the present government of Sudan be kicked out? Where are the university demonstrations against Sudan? Where are the voices of the Middle East Studies departments on US and Canadian university campuses when it comes to Darfur? Where is that British clown George Galloway? Why isn't he organizing Viva Darfur convoys? Where are the voices of the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP and others?



If you happen to be witness to any of these "Israel Apartheid" protests, you might want to ask them a question: "What about Darfur?" A few years ago, at an Israel Apartheid event at UC-Irvine, one of those anti-Israel speakers was taking questions from the audience after his speech. (I was present, but I don't recall specifically if it was Alim Musa or Amir Abdel Malik Ali; I think it was the former.) A student asked simply; "Darfur. Who is right and who is wrong?" The speaker was stumped. It was a question he did not expect. The answer was a halting, rambling piece that mentioned a vague reference to female genital circumcision and ended with the statement that (something)"was an insult to all Muslims." (If that is a tortured recounting of what the man said, it is because the answer itself was so tortured.)

So why is it that so many want to eliminate Israel as a Jewish state, but fall silent when it comes to Darfur? I suspect in the case of Israel, it is not about that tiny piece of land in the Middle East the size of New Jersey. It's not about whose human rights are being violated in this never-ending conflict. It is about religion. In the case of Darfur, I also suspect religion has a big part in the question of why this situation has been allowed to continue.