On World Humanitarian Day, I find myself extremely frustrated with number of seemingly endless atrocities happening around the world. Conflicts are killing individuals, destroying communities, and displacing millions. On a day that marks those who seek to make people’s lives better, I wonder why there are so many individuals who seek to make others’ lives…
In the midst of the world’s greatest sporting event is a small group of competitors representing history’s greatest refugee crisis. For the first time ever in Olympic competition a Refugee Olympic Team is marching and competing under the Olympic banner. These ten athletes represent over 21.3 million refugees worldwide—individuals who have fled their countries due…
Jewish World Watch is deeply concerned by the latest attempt of President Joseph Kabila to silence any objective research and reporting by human rights defenders. Today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced that Ida Sawyer, a Senior Researcher for HRW based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had her work permit revoked and is being forced…
When discussing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the issue of ‘conflict minerals’ is almost always a part of the conversation. Conflict minerals refers to the tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (3TG) that are mined in the DRC’s eastern region, and have a history of being used as a source of funding…
It’s that time of year again. The August Congressional recess is rapidly approaching, which means your Representatives will be home in their district offices. This is a perfect time for you to schedule a meeting with your Representative and Senators to discuss atrocities prevention, and update them on the situations in Sudan, South Sudan, and…
**This Blog post was written by our two summer Federation Interns: Gabby Blum and Emma Aaronson** Gabby: As a Jewish child I was taught about the horrific events that occurred during the Holocaust. It was very impactful when I was constantly faced with stories and photos about one of the most infamous events in…
Last weekend, heavy fighting broke out between government and opposition soldiers in Juba, South Sudan, killing approximately 300 and displacing thousands. It has been nearly a year since a peace agreement was signed in August 2015 to end the “meaningless war,” as President Salva Kiir has characterized it, but little progress has been made to…
This weekend we lost a giant. Elie Wiesel passed away at the age of 87. The Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner may be best known for his widely read book “Night,” the story of his time in the concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Wiesel was not only a Holocaust survivor, but an outspoken advocate for…
After more than two years of unnecessary war that accomplished nothing—except the destruction of the country—South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar wrote in the New York Times yesterday that what their country needs to move forward is not justice, but truth telling. The brutal civil war which saw horrific mass…
* A special report from our consultant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Eastern Congo May 26 – Masses of demonstrators, mainly made up of civil society organizations and opposition parties’ supporters, joined in the streets this morning to protest against a likely third term by President Joseph Kabila. People were protesting nationwide against the May 11th ruling by Congo’s highest court…