So Much the "Chosen People" cared about Human Rights !

US Jewish leaders call for boycott of Beijing Olympics

Group of 175 prominent Jewish leaders in US sign petition urging Jews to boycott Olympic Games, citing China's human rights violations, ties with Iran and Syria
Associated Press

A wide-ranging group of US Jewish leaders plans to release a statement Wednesday urging Jews worldwide to boycott the Summer Olympics in Beijing, citing China's troubling record on human rights and Tibet.

The statement also notes China's close relationships with Iran, Syria and the militant group Hamas.

So far, 175 rabbis, seminary officials and other prominent Jews have signed the declaration, which comes shortly before Holocaust Remembrance Day on Friday, organizers said.

"We are deeply troubled by China's support for the genocidal government of Sudan; its mistreatment of the people of Tibet; its denial of basic rights to its own citizens; and its provision of missiles to Iran and Syria, and friendship for Hamas," the statement reads.

"Having endured the bitter experience of abandonment by our presumed allies during the Holocaust, we feel a particular obligation to speak out against injustice and persecution today."

Awkward issue for Israel

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, past chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, said signers are not alleging that the Chinese government is the equivalent of the Nazi regime, but that China, like Germany in 1936, is trying to use the Olympics as a public relations tool to deflect attention from its record.

The declaration was organized by Greenberg and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of New York — both Orthodox Jews — and the Washington-based David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies.

Several representatives of Judaism's major US branches and large Jewish institutions signed on. They include Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism; Neil Goldstein and Richard Gordon of the American Jewish Congress; and Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly, an association of Conservative rabbis.

The statement seizes on Olympic organizers' plans for a kosher kitchen at the Olympic Village, where athletes stay. Greenberg characterized the move as an attempt to lure Jewish tourists by presenting an image of sensitivity.

"I would say in principle, athletes and tourists and governments should all draw the same conclusion to this," Greenberg said. "Unless the Chinese make some significant corrections, they should not participate."

Meyers said he hopes the declaration is interpreted as a call for Israel and Jewish athletes worldwide to boycott the games, although he doubts such a boycott will come to pass.

"It would be good if that happened," Meyers said. "(But) I know Israel has political ties to China, and does business with China. It presents a somewhat awkward issue for Israel."

http://www.ynet.co.il/english/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3537713,00.html

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Steven Spielberg to Hu Jintao on Darfur, Nov. 2007

On Dec. 13, 2007, Steven Spielberg released the text of a second letter to the President of China, Hu Jintao, in which he urgently appeals to China to use its influence at this most critical moment to bring an end to the genocide in Darfur. Spielberg is serving as an artistic director for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Release Date: 12/13/2007

His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People's Republic of China
Zhongnanhai, Xichengqu, Beijing City
People's Republic of China
November 15, 2007

Your Excellency,

It has been several months since I last wrote expressing my concerns about the human tragedy in the Darfur region of Sudan, where more than 200,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced. In the intervening months, I corresponded with Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, and traveled to New York to meet privately with Special Envoy Liu Guijin. His appointment and China's support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 were hopeful and appreciated signs that China was willing to use its influence to bring an end to the genocide in the region. I, and much of the rest of the world, felt a sense of optimism and hoped it would bring a lasting peace to the region.

Unfortunately, since that time, the situation in Darfur has deteriorated and while China's earlier efforts were encouraging, its silence in the wake of Sudan's recent actions and the resulting chaos on the ground has been disturbing. Sudan is continuing to defy the international community, creating obstacles to the deployment of peacekeepers, increasing violent campaigns against Darfuris and expelling humanitarian officials essential to the very survival of millions of desperate citizens.

This week the United Nations warned that unless Sudan quickly accepts the hybrid peacekeeping force and key countries contribute critical equipment needed for the peacekeeping efforts, the force will not be prepared for deployment in January 2008 - already two long months away. So I write to you now with a renewed sense of urgency in the hope that China will redouble its efforts to pressure Sudan to join in a fair peace agreement and, at last, bring an end to the genocide.

China's economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide you with the influence and the obligation to press for change. Please urge Sudan to accept - and rapidly facilitate - the United Nations authorized hybrid force and please join with other nations to contribute the much needed helicopters and heavy transport vehicles needed to conduct these peacekeeping missions. Without China's insistence, I fear Sudan will simply "wait out the clock."

I believe the decisive hour for Darfur is now. There must be meaningful and measurable progress on the ground for Darfuris within the next few weeks. The world needs China to lead here. So many lives are at stake.

Most Sincerely,
Steven Spielberg

CC: Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
Special Envoy Liu Guijin

Contact:
Steven Spielberg's Offices
Andy Spahn, 818-733-7336

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'Israel treated its soldiers as guinea pigs'

Press TV - 2009-03-25


Israel has admitted to developing an anthrax vaccine through a secretresearch project involving tests on unaware army soldiers.

TheIsraeli Defense Ministry revealed on Wednesday that the vaccine wastested on 716 soldiers while they had not been fully informed about thestudy, Ynet reported.

The project, codenamed "Omer 2", washeld during the first part of the 1990s and the subjects were pickedout of a pool of 4,000.

Some of the soldiers, who say that theexperiment has had life-threatening side effects for them, are nowfiling a lawsuit against the Israeli Army, Haaretz reported.

So far, 11 soldiers have sought medical attention due to the side effects sustained as result of the tests.

Israeli Physicians for Human Rights have also filed a lawsuit against the army over the experiments.

Theexperiments were carried out in light of what was then defined as the"strategic threat of a surprise biological attack facing Israel," thereport said.

Meanwhile an official medical committee has published a report, raising doubt over motivations for advancing the experiment.

Thereport which was drafted by a special committee of doctors, a legaladvisor, and a scientist from the Weizmann Institute of Science, wasfinally approved for publication on Wednesday.

The report revealed that even while the experiment was taking place, Israel had already had a stock of anthrax vaccines.

"Anaccelerated effort to produce large quantities of the vaccine wasunderway a year prior to the experiment, and by the time theexperiments were launched, Israel had enough vaccines to cover thecivilian concerns," the report said.

The committee also criticized the "shroud of secrecy" which the experiments' directors implemented.

"Thecommittee was unconvinced that the need for a vaccine was dulyconsidered by decision makers. Also, it is not clear who the decisionmakers were who determined the vaccine's necessity," read the report.

The only official document found by the committee about the experiment was written by the deputy Defense Minister.