Anne Heyman heard a statistic nearly two years ago that would change her life: Fifteen percent of Rwandan children are orphans due to the 1994 genocide that murdered 800,000 people in 100 days. “I couldn’t let go of this notion,” Heyman said. “There was really no future for Rwanda.” Heyman, a non-practicing attorney born in… More ▸
It has been 12 years since the Rwandan genocide, but underlying tensions remain. Some won’t talk about the past. Others live near those who tried to kill them. Nightmares, court cases and blame-game tactics all are part of the legacy left by Rwanda’s genocide. Those concerns resonate deeply with the Jewish people, whose own history… More ▸
Rwandans are “gearing” up for their Chanukah gift from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. For the upcoming holiday, the JDC is sending 1,000 bicycles to Rwanda so that providers of badly needed services, such as social workers and nurses, can better reach people in need, the JDC said. The JDC has been providing extensive… More ▸
The government of Rwanda has approached a leading Holocaust survivors group for advice on the long-term effects of genocide. “We can’t turn our backs on them,” said John Lemberger, director of AMCHA, an organization in Israel that provides psychosocial services for Holocaust survivors and their families. Lemberger responded to the Rwandan appeal by attending the… More ▸
In response to the ongoing civil violence in Rwanda, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is continuing the humanitarian presence it initiated in that troubled area of the world last year. In the latest violence to erupt in the region, the Rwandan government carried out some 2,000 ethnic killings at a refugee camp over the… More ▸
In the middle of the Kibumba refugee camp here, Dr. Rick Hodes, a slim American doctor wearing a yarmulke and a light-blue windbreaker, can be seen darting in and out of the hospital tents. The rainy season has begun, adding to the misery of the 850,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in their… More ▸
The Israeli field hospital set up at the Rwanda-Zaire border to administer emergency medical services to Rwandan refugees returned home this week after six weeks of harrowing work. During their stay, three teams of 90 medical and technical volunteers from the Israel Defense Force treated tens of thousands of ailing Rwandans, most suffering from cholera… More ▸
Israel has informed the United Nations that it is ready to offer medical aid to victims of the strife in Rwanda. This assistance would be in addition to the food and medicine Israel has already sent. For some months now, Israel has been discussing with U.N. officials the possibility of sending a mobile medical unit… More ▸
Israel and Rwanda have resumed diplomatic relations, broken off in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War. Ambassador Gad Ya’acobi, Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, signed the accord restoring ties with his Rwandan counterpart, Ambassador Marzi Bakuramutsa, at the Israeli mission to the United Nations on Oct. 11. At the ceremony, Ya’acobi spoke of… More ▸
Opinion
The US anti-BDS bill may be bad, but not as bad as some critics sayOpinion
The US anti-BDS bill may be bad, but not as bad as some critics say