For more information, check out the event flyer.  Purchase tickets here.

Seeds La Africa youth dance troupe lead the OC Walk to End Genocide.  Julia Julima (activist, dancer, spoken-word poet, high school student, and Sudanese refugee) pictured behind, speaking to Jan Madnick, Co-OC Walk Chair.

When I first started working with Jewish World Watch’s member synagogues over 5 years ago, I noticed a little problem.  We had quite a few member synagogues located in Orange County and…  well, being a former OC girl myself, I had a little insight into the psyche of those who live “south of the Orange curtain.”  Just to test my hunch, I called a meeting with the representatives of those synagogues and asked them a pointed question, “how likely is it that your congregation will travel up north (all the way to the west valley at the time!) to attend our annual walk?” I could tell by their expressions that my instinct was right.  It simply couldn’t be done.  We could never get people from Orange County to drive up for an event no matter how much they believed in and supported the cause. “OK,” I said, “what do you think about us holding our own walk here?”  It took a beat, maybe two… and then the response was an overwhelming YES!

What started in 2009 as a rally of about 100 people and an electric keyboard has more than quadrupled in size!  We are no longer singing along to a keyboard but rockin’ to an awesome band.  An event for a handful of synagogues has now morphed into an incredible inter-faith and inter-ethnic experience that encompasses all aspects of the community, faith-based as well as secular.  The Orange County community comes together at the beautiful Fountain Valley Sports Park, choosing to be UPSTANDERS, standing firm after 68 years of shouting and insisting “NEVER AGAIN,” raising our voices ever louder until those words become a reality for all people.

Now of course, none of this happens in a vacuum.  There is only so much I can do from my office in the San Fernando Valley.  The success of this event is the result of a handful of passionate, dedicated and tireless volunteers, community leaders and faith leaders.  Such a diverse and wonderful group of people.  Here is just a sampling:

• Rabbi Steve Einstein, whose support enabled us to get this off the ground
• OC for Darfur that helped us build coalitions in a new and foreign land (Irvine!)
• Rabbi Rachel Kort and Susan Penn who understood that step #1 always begins with education…  and step 2 must be action!
• The Huntington Beach Interfaith Council whose participation and support has been invaluable
• Rabbi Nancy Myers who pointed out the importance of tying in a local issue to a global cause, resulting in our partnership with…
• The Tiyya Foundation, an incredible OC based non-profit that is supporting the local refugee population with everything from basic household needs to tutoring, mentorship and soccer for children.  The beginning of a beautiful relationship!
• Father Christian Mondor of Sts. Simon and Jude, whose great sense of humor after being introduced as “Rabbi” Christian Mondor is one of my fondest memories second only to him introducing himself as Father Christian Mondor of Sts. Simon and Jude and Jewish World Watch!!!!

But there are people who have worked on this from the beginning.  People like Monica Engle, who in addition to her hard work on the walk has consistently brought in the top fundraising team since day one!  Lil Rostoker who will show up and always say, “put me where you need me.”  And, acharon, acharon chaviv (saving the best for last)– Jan Madnick and Carol Weinfeld.  This is their walk.  Everything that has happened– the growth, the success, the energy, the amount of life-saving funds raised, the expansion to encompass all demographics from an event that started out as a handful of synagogues– is because of these two remarkable women who do so much more than “Not Standing Idly By”– they never stop moving.  They keep pushing the finish line farther and farther down the field because they refuse to cross it until we eradicate genocide from our planet once and for all.

The special place that the Orange County Walk holds in my heart is not secret.  Not just because it’s the place that I came from, but because this event exemplifies what grassroots activism looks like.  They said “it couldn’t be done” – so they did something else!  They built something completely their own and representative of their community, just as it should be.

Director of Outreach Mina Rush and Father Christian Mondor, 2013 OC Walk to End Genocide

Visit the walk website to register and find more information.

The State Department is readying the proverbial red carpet for one of the leading architects and implementers of the genocide in Sudan, Nafie Ali Nafie. To survivors of genocide in Sudan, Nafie Ali Nafie is a notorious figure. As a senior advisor to Sudan’s president, Nafie headed the feared National Intelligence and Security Service, established the “ghost houses” of torture, and helped design the regime’s strategy to eliminate or expel indigenous African people by bombing, attacking, raping and starving innocent civilians. The ICC named Nafie as among the key senior officials who were complicit in Bashir’s crimes. The Administration’s invitation for high-level talks undermines established U. S. policy and violates President Obama’s promise to bar perpetrators of serious human rights violations from entry into the country.

Take Action

Please join us in protesting this alarming plan: Ask Secretary of State John Kerry to rescind the invitation.

Extra Credit

Re-tweet @jworldwatch: Tell @StateDept that #NafietheButcher is not welcome in the US. No American red carpet for war criminals http://bit.ly/17zSpeg

Statements from Nafie’s Victims:

• “My name is Abdalmageed Salih Abker Haroun and I am a victim of torture by Nafie Ali Nafie from 2009 to 2010. I was arrested in Khartoum and taken to the National Intelligence and Security Service building where I was tortured. I asked why I was being tortured, and security agents told me that my file was sent to Nafie and he would decide if I would be detained or released. There was an international campaign launched for my release, which included a letter from the late Congressman Donald Payne. Nafie said he did not care what the international community said. He said there was no evidence against me, but he felt like I was suspicious and so he ordered me to stay for more than four and half months. I was tortured every day. I do not welcome Nafie to the United States and the U.S. should not do any deals with the Sudan government except to increase sanctions and pressure until the government is removed.” (April 30, 2013)

• “My name is Hawa Salih and I am one survivor of the Darfur genocide. My village was destroyed completely, and one hundred family members were killed systemically, ethnically as Fur tribe people. 50 ladies were raped as a weapon of war from my village; ten of them were ladies from my family. For nine years I was forced to live in a refugee camp. I was arrested three times, kidnapped twice, tortured with electric shock, treated without dignity in detention, and sentenced to death. I was forced to flee Sudan because of my activism as a human rights activist in rejecting the serious crimes that were happening to my people. I was the voice of the women and youth in the IDP camps and universities as well as among students and activists. This was carried out since 2003 until May 2011 by the NCP, Nafie as one of them, and the Janjaweed militia. In addition, Nafie led the very high level of torture, which was witnessed by millions of Sudanese and Southern Sudanese, and it is still ongoing. The United States should not deal with the Sudan government until it immediately allows humanitarian aid into war affected areas; stops bombing Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile; allows the UN and the US to protect civilians and to investigate human rights crimes; and sends criminals to the ICC.” (April 30, 2013)

Outrage Over Nafie’s Proposed Visit to the US:

• Letter to President Obama from Representative Wolf
• Global Post: US Invites Sudan Official, Drawing Criticism
• Sudan Tribune: US Congressman criticizes Obama for inviting Sudanese delegation
• Christian News Wire: IRD Condemns U.S. Administration’s Invitation to Brutal Architect of Sudan’s ‘Ghost Houses’
• GretaWire: Why is the Obama Administration Doing this?
• Letter to President Obama from Girifna
• Help Nuba Blog: When the Nazis Met with the State Department in Washington by Rabbi David Kaufman
• Free Beacon: Welcoming War Criminals
• United to End Genocide Statement
• Interviews with Abdalmageed Salih Abker Haroun, Hawa Abdallah Mohammed Salih and others on Afia Darfur Radio

About Nafie Ali Nafie Adviser and Presidential Assistant Former Chief of National Intelligence and Security Services More information regarding Nafie’s role in spreading terror in Sudan and supporting rogue states and terrorist organizations worldwide can be found here.