Last Shabbat, I addressed the issue of Amnesty International’s false claims on Israel being an apartheid state, but I also spoke about another issue: the Olympics in China and the silence of humanitarian organizations regarding China’s treatment of the Uyghurs. CLICK HERE TO READ Here’s an excerpt:
This week, the 2022 Olympic Winter Games kicked off in China this week. From the looks of it, you may have thought that China was a leader in human rights. For those who don’t know, the Chinese government is accused of a genocide against the Uyghur people, a Turkic Muslim minority with a presence in the country’s western Xinjiang region. “Experts say that at least a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained in the region and held in extra-judicial camps or sent to prisons. Former detainees and residents of Xinjiang have made allegations of torture, forced sterilization and sexual abuse.”
But, you wouldn’t know that by watching the opening ceremonies. At one point, they trotted out a Uyghur cross-country skier named Dinigeer Yilamujiang to be one of two Chinese athletes to light the Olympic caldron. A journalist quipped: “China must have thought it was so smart: That’ll show the West we don’t kill and torture the Uyghurs, we love them so much we’ll let one of them light the caldron.”
But this week, Amnesty UK decided to give China a pass on their human rights abuses. It’s not just them, but most of the world, including athletes, music and movie stars.
In this week’s parashah, Tetzaveh, we learn about the Menorah, the seven-branch candelabra in the Mishkan/Tabernacle which was also part of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
There is an interesting Midrash that speaks about the windows in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Midrash, the windows were created to let light out, which is the opposite function of all other windows. The light of the menorah was so powerful that it brought light to the entire world. As Jews, we are called an Or Lagoyim, a light unto the nations. Each one of us carries the light of the Menorah, and it is our choice to show that light to the world.
With that in mind, I wanted to invite you all to the RAC (Religious Action Center) and Uyghur American Association’s event “If Not Now, When? Uplifting Uyghur Voices” on Monday, February 14 at 6 pm ET on Zoom. Various Jewish organizations and the Uyghur American Association are combining their efforts to raise awareness of the plight of the Uyghurs during the Beijing Olympics.
Here’s an excerpt from the organization: “Since 2017, the Chinese government has perpetrated countless atrocities against the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang in order to forcibly assimilate the Uyghurs into the culture of the ethnic Han Chinese majority. These crimes include surveillance, infringement of Uyghur religious freedom, forced sterilization, and internment in forced labor camps. As the world celebrates the Beijing Olympics, we cannot ignore the peril inflicted on the Uyghurs by the Chinese government.”
Please join the RAC and the Uyghur American Association for “If Not Now, When? Uplifting Uyghur Voices” on February 14 at 6 pm ET on Zoom. Listen to a survivor’s testimony and learn more about what’s happening to the Uyghurs and what you can do to help.
Register at www.rac.org/uyghur.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and thank you for sharing the light of God with the world.
Rabbi David Baum
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