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AUSTRALIAN JEWISH COMMUNAL RESPONSE TO KOSOVO CRISIS

Media Release - 11th April 1999

"If I am only for myself, who am I ?" Hillel

How Can We Help?

Jews not only oppose the brutal abuse of minorities but Jewish values and history compel us to act to ameliorate the tragedy of such action. As the influx of refugees strains the resources of relief organisations close to the Kosovo conflict Australia's Jewish community is working together with Israeli and Australian aid initiatives to facilitate and co-ordinate fundraising efforts.

Both the U.I.A., (United Israel Appeal) to which the majority of Australian Jews subscribe, and Keshet, an Australian/Jewish, humanitarian initiative, will ensure that donations are used as effectively as possible.

Mr Peter Wertheim, President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, in a press release last week, not only roundly condemned expulsion of ethnic Albanians from the Kosovo district but drew attention to the way in which Australians can contribute to the Jewish Agency's relief fund.

He said, "The fact that in 1999 over 300,000 innocent civilians are being forced to abandon the land of their birth and their livelihoods for no reason at all except their ethnic identity is an indictment of humanity", he said. "It is sad that the perpetrators are, for the most part, ordinary Serbs whose hearts and minds have been so poisoned by ethnic hatred that they have become transformed into murderers and the destroyers of innocent lives. Jewish history has taught us all too well that ethnic hatred is not only a blight upon the human soul, but also a socially destructive force without parallel. No-one will derive any joy from the fact that now some of the Serbs themselves are becoming victims as a result of the NATO bombing campaign."

"I know that there are many Jews within our community who wish to do something constructive to alleviate the suffering of the victims and a donation can be made through the United Israel Appeal earmarked "For Jewish Agency operations in Kosovo". The money will be used for all refugees, not just for the Jewish community in Kosovo.

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