{"id":1803,"date":"2020-08-17T14:31:50","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T05:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/?p=1803"},"modified":"2020-08-17T14:31:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T05:31:50","slug":"faith-leaders-including-20-british-rabbis-call-for-urgent-action-on-xinjiang-potential-genocide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/2020\/08\/17\/faith-leaders-including-20-british-rabbis-call-for-urgent-action-on-xinjiang-potential-genocide\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith leaders, including 20 British Rabbis, call for urgent action on Xinjiang ‘potential genocide’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

https:\/\/www.thejc.com\/news\/world\/faith-leaders-call-for-urgent-action-on-potential-genocide-in-xinjiang-1.502608?fbclid=IwAR29uJZdZoTgI1dFXYHihnnpwDUx-MF1_YQ0z1A-rEstEOkksNXd9iTYc_k<\/a>
Appealing for an international investigation, the signatories said that repression in Xinjiang is ‘one of the most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty British rabbis are among 76 faith leaders in the UK, North America and South-East Asia to sign an open letter calling for urgent action to prevent \u201cthe potential genocide of Uyghurs and other Muslims in China\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter, which was published on Saturday, was signed by faith leaders from the UK, the United States, Canada, Italy, Burma and Indonesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its signatories represent a myriad of denominations of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, as well as Humanism and Tibetan Buddhism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement reads that the persecution of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China\u2019s far western region of Xinjiang is \u201cthe most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter appeals for an international investigation into Chinese policies in Xinjiang and for those responsible for \u201ccrimes\u201d to be held to account.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have seen many persecutions and mass atrocities,\u201d the letter reads, \u201cthese need our attention. But there is one that, if allowed to continue with impunity, calls into question most seriously the willingness of the international community to defend universal human rights for everyone \u2013 the plight of the Uyghurs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China is reportedly holding over one million people, mostly Uyghurs, in internment camps throughout Xinjiang and has subjected the region\u2019s Muslim population to abuse and mistreatment that include forced labour, surveillance, and stringent restrictions on the practice of religious and cultural practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics, including Uyghur rights groups, have said that the Chinese campaign amounts to cultural genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jewish leaders formed over one-quarter of the signatories, which also included dozens of Muslim leaders, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, London\u2019s Coptic-Orthodox Archbishop Angaelos, and the Catholic Cardinals of Myanmar and Indonesia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the Jewish signatories include the Senior Sephardi Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi at Golders Green Synagogue Dr Harvey Belovski, the Interim Director of Liberal Judaism Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Senior Reform Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, and Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors of the open letter pointed to recent reports that suggested that a campaign of forced sterilisation of Uyghur women in an effort to suppress population growth \u2013 \u201can action which, according to the 1948 Genocide Convention, could elevate this to the level of genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe clear aim of the Chinese authorities is to eradicate the Uyghur identity,\u201d the faith leaders write.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text compares the repression of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang to the Holocaust, writing: \u201cAfter the Holocaust, the world said \u2018Never Again\u2019. Today, we repeat those words \u2018Never Again\u2019, all over again.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe urge people of faith and conscience everywhere to join us: in prayer, solidarity and action to end these mass atrocities. We make a simple call for justice, to investigate these crimes, hold those responsible to account and establish a path towards the restoration of human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter was welcomed by the Board of Deputies, Christian human rights group CSW, as well as the leading Uyghur rights groups the World Uyghur Congress, the Coalition for Genocide Response, and Stop Uyghur Genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter also expressed solidarity with Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners, and Chinese Christians, which the signatories described as facing “the worst crackdown on freedomm of religion or belief since the Cultural Revolution.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.thejc.com\/news\/world\/faith-leaders-call-for-urgent-action-on-potential-genocide-in-xinjiang-1.502608?fbclid=IwAR29uJZdZoTgI1dFXYHihnnpwDUx-MF1_YQ0z1A-rEstEOkksNXd9iTYc_kAppealing for an international investigation, the signatories said that repression in Xinjiang is ‘one of the most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust’ Twenty British … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-1803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ethnic-cleansing-crime-against-humanity-genocide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1805,"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803\/revisions\/1805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}