Jewish Ledger
These American Jewish activists are trying to make the Uighur cause another Darfur
By Ron Kampeas
(JTA) – When Rayhan Asat attended a Passover seder last month, its contours seemed familiar and different at once – especially the tradition of leaving a seat empty at the table.
It reminded Asat, a lawyer, of leaving a seat empty for her brother, Ekpar, at her graduation from Harvard Law School in 2016. Ekpar, a member of China’s Uighur minority, had been disappeared by the Chinese government.
Jewish World Watch, an anti-genocide group that hosted the online seder for Uighurs on March 30, suggested that families leave a seat at the seder table for the more than a million people whom China’s government has imprisoned or otherwise disappeared.
The next major Jewish action is on behalf of Uighurs
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Protesters against China s policies toward the Uighurs demonstrate outside United Nations headquarters in New York City, March 22, 2021. The protester in the foreground is wearing a kippah.
(JTA) - When Rayhan Asat attended a Passover seder last month, its contours seemed familiar and different at once - especially the tradition of leaving a seat empty at the table.
It reminded Asat, a lawyer, of leaving a seat empty for her brother, Ekpar, at her graduation from Harvard Law School in 2016. Ekpar, a member of China s Uighur minority, had been disappeared by the Chinese government.
In a rare public statement on a political appointment, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs called out misleading allegations of antisemitism leveled against Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. In a letter sent to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week, the Jewish umbrella group urged the Senate to consider her nomination based on her record of fighting antisemitism and promoting civil rights.
Clarke’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Last month, Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, drew attention to past comments made by Clarke – which were recently featured on conservative news websites – about racial superiority and highlighted her role in organizing a 1994 event while at Harvard University that featured antisemitic comments by a controversial professor. In an interview with the Forward following her appointment in January, Clarke said it “was a mistak
The next major Jewish action is on behalf of Uighurs April 6, 2021 10:39 am Protesters against China s policies toward the Uighurs demonstrate outside United Nations headquarters in New York City, March 22, 2021. The protester in the foreground is wearing a kippah. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Advertisement
(JTA) When Rayhan Asat attended a Passover seder last month, its contours seemed familiar and different at once especially the tradition of leaving a seat empty at the table.
It reminded Asat, a lawyer, of leaving a seat empty for her brother, Ekpar, at her graduation from Harvard Law School in 2016. Ekpar, a member of China’s Uighur minority, had been disappeared by the Chinese government.