Jewish coalition asks US president for action over Darfur crisis 

A coalition of Jewish groups in the United States called on President George Bush to intervene in the humanitarian crisis in the Sudanese province of Darfur. In a letter, the coalition calls on Bush “to assert moral and political leadership, promoting immediate and comprehensive international intervention,” including an increase in peace-keeping troops and humanitarian aid. The international community has foundered in its efforts to stop the government-backed slaughter of minorities in Sudan. The letter, led by the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), has signatories from all the Jewish religious streams as well as the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hillel and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, United Jewish Communities. “We are extremely proud of the Jewish community’s grassroots response to this tragedy,” Ruth Messinger, president and executive director of AJWS, told the news agency JTA. “We now want to be sure that all American Jews know the degree to which our leaders and our national communal organizations are fighting this fight.”