In 2013, we at Christ Church joined Jewish and Muslim leaders to urge the Western world to end its passivity and apathy towards the genocide in Syria.
That statement is as relevant today as it was then.
Please pray for the people of Syria and urge your governments to be more active in ending the slaughter that is taking place in Aleppo.

Here is our response:

We condemn: the mass atrocities, including summary executions, the indiscriminate use of force, the use of chemical weapons, the rapes, kidnappings beheadings and torture and forced expulsions directed against the Syrian people – all crimes against humanity.

We condemn: the Assad regime that bears the overwhelming responsibility for the death and suffering of so many Syrians and the suppression of their human rights.

We condemn: the continuing persecution, demonization, hostility, expulsions and brutality directed against religious and ethnic minorities – Christians, Druze, Kurds, Alawites, Palestinians, Circassians, Hazaras, Yazidis and Armenians perpetrated especially by jihadists among the rebels.

We condemn: the support that China, Russia, Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah are providing for the murderous activities of the Assad regime. They bear a special responsibility for enabling these crimes against humanity.

We condemn: the passivity of the Western powers, the United States in particular, who are once again acting as bystanders and allowing unspeakable atrocities to continue without a challenge. Their failure to stop the bloodbath in Syria undermines their credibility and authority as the world’s powers and risks the danger of wider regional conflicts.

We call upon the international community: to stop the mass atrocities and crimes against humanity, in Syria against civilians, and the assault on human rights, the most basic of which is life itself.

We call upon the major powers: to take whatever actions are necessary to enforce an immediate and permanent cease-fire, (including the use and spread of chemical weapons) to protect vulnerable minorities in keeping with their international responsibilities to “prevent and protect” and the norms of morality and law. A political solution can wait, but the killing, butchery and atrocities must be stopped. So far, declarations and resolutions have accomplished nothing. The major powers must take responsibility for providing safe havens for threatened minorities.
We call on the international community: to bring all those who have committed war crimes to justice, both from the regime and rebel groups.
We call upon all countries, especially those in the Middle East: to actively assist the Syrian people with humanitarian aid, and to protect vulnerable minorities from persecution and expulsion.

Evil results from human choice and bystander indifference. It is time to stop the drift towards ever more suffering and loss of life. How many more Syrians will be sacrificed because of western indecisiveness, or for the interests of realpolitik? Hundreds? Thousands? A million?

We call upon all to join this call to action. The nations of the world have a responsibility to “prevent and protect”. The peoples of the world have to hold their governments accountable, now more than ever.

Signed:
Bassem Eid
Palestine Human Rights Monitoring Group

Professor Mohammed S. Dajani-Daoudi
Al Quds University and Founder of Wasatia

Uriel Levy
Combat Genocide Association Tel Aviv

David Pileggi, Rector
Christ Church Jerusalem

Professor Elihu D. Richter MD MPH
Hebrew University-Hadassah and The Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention