First Round
Enjoy Mother's ay
Thanks, Osama!
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8 April 27 • 2006
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n behalf of the American
Jewish World Service
(AJWS) and the other
organizations gathering in
Washington, D.C., on Sunday, April
30, for the "Save Darfur Rally to End
Genocide," I thank Osama bin- Laden
for his kind words broadcast on Al
Jazeera television April 23.
Explaining the possibility of
United Nations peacekeeping forces
entering the Darfur region of the
Sudan as an attempt for
the West to steal oil, the
Al Qaeda leader sounded
much like Howie Mandel:
No deal.
"Let [Sudanese
President Omar Hassan]
al-Bashir and [U.S.
President George W.] Bush
know that this agreement
is not worth the ink in
which it was written with
and does not oblige us in
the least," said bin Laden, according
to transcripts translated in a Reuters.
story.
"The United States did not get
enough with all of this strife and
crimes but went on to stir further
strife, the biggest of which was its
strife. in Sudan; using some differ-
ences between some tribesmen,
and turned them into a blind war
between them that destroys all in
preparation to send crusader troops
to occupy the region and steal its oil
under the guise of preserving secu
rity there.
"It is enough that it abandoned
the implementation of Sharia law
and neglected the south, and I call
on the mujahadeen to learn about
the land and tribes of the Darfur
province and the parts around it.
It has been said that a man with
knowledge can conquer 'land while
land can conquer the ignorant."
The AJWS says that almost 2.5
million civilians in the Darfur
region have been displaced, and
the Janjaweed — the "government-
backed militia recruited among
groups of Arab extraction" — has
slaughtered 400,000 others after the
mostly non-Arab tribes revolted
against the government in 2003.
Obviously, Osama thinks those
numbers could "improve" after a
little pep talk.
The rally in Washington was
designed to put the situation in
Darfur on the front pages and the
lead stories of the American media,
but Osama's comments might very
well swell the numbers of attendees
to well over the 50,000 hoped for.
As it stands, a small African
Union peacekeeping force of 7,000 is
not doing the job required.
So thanks, Osama, and
thanks to Al Jazeera;
you've both done a won-
derful mitzvah.
The AJWS wants sanc-
tions against some of
the Sudan government's
officials, and peacekeep-
ing forces in the Sudan
with the power to stop
the slaughter. But, above
all, they want celebrity
babies off the pages of
newspapers and magazines and off
the lead story of local news. And so
do I.
It's Holocaust commemoration
week. We talk all week about the
Nazi Holocaust that incinerated 6
million Jews 61 years ago. We chant
"Never Again" for a week, then go
home to a normal life. With enough
never-ending coverage by the media,
some of you will be convinced to
find a nice baby gift for Suri Cruise
because it seems important. But
for God's sake, how many other
well-wishers do you think will also
be sending TomKat's baby The
Toddler's Guide to Scientology by
L. Ron Hubbard?
If you want to get serious and do
something worthwhile, show up in
force at the Holocaust Memorial
Center in Farmington Hills at 10
a.m. on Friday, April 28, to show
solidarity for the victims in Darfur.
Or hop in your car and follow the
two buses going to Washington, D.C.,
from Congregation Shaarey Zedek
in Southfield at 10 p.m. on Saturday,
April 29.
"Never Again" means never. ❑
Harry Kirsbaum's e-mail address is
hkirsbaum@thejewishnews.com .