The Synagogue Council of America has called on all rabbis and their congregants to make a nation-wide effort to provide aid to the starving Biafrans in the secessionist Nigerian province. In a resolution, the coordinating agency for American Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews declared that “we who have endured the barbarism of the centuries condemn those who watched our suffering with callous, unseeing eyes and hearts of stone. We regard the silent spectators as accomplices of the persecutors.”
The resolution called on rabbis and congregants to arouse public opinion on the issue through sermons, special prayers, community demonstrations and other “appropriate means” and to urge the United States Government to “undertake a massive relief effort.” The resolution also called on Jews “to solicit contributions to enable international relief agencies to get food and medical supplies to the suffering.” The resolution noted that the SCA and its agencies Joined recently with other Jewish organizations to form the American Jewish Emergency Effort for Biafran Relief and an interreligious group with the National Council of Churches and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, to resolve the problem,
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
