Dear Ambassador CdeBaca,
We write to you as a former member of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and on behalf of the Rabbinical Assembly, the international member organization for over 1700 Conservative/Masorti rabbis, urges the State Department to exercise all appropriate influence to ensure the safe return of over 200 Nigerian school girls who have been maliciously abducted by the terrorist organization Boko Haram since last month, including a new group of eight girls just yesterday. The Talmud teaches us that the world exists only for the sake of the breath of schoolchildren, and it is unconscionable that these girls, rather than experiencing an enriching and peaceful childhood, should suffer the horrifying fate of sex slavery promised to them by their brutal captors. We expect that Secretary Kerry and his colleagues in the Obama Administration and in other international political and humanitarian organizations will work with the appropriate Nigerian parties to bring appropriate pressure and punishment on the perpetrators of this crime.
The girls kidnapped by Boko Haram were schoolchildren, targeted because of their desire to learn. They are girls who will one day attend college and graduate school; they aspire to become doctors, engineers, and politicians, and to make their presence felt in society. The desperate need for such women around the world, especially in countries with as much promise and economic development as Nigeria, is self-evident, and their desire to work for the good of their country is specifically what made them targets. As we speak, these girls’ captors seek to turn them into sex slaves, break their spirits, and deny the future that they represent for their country. The promise of these women stands in stark contrast to the horrors of the reality they now face.
The Rabbinical Assembly has frequently advocated for greater awareness of the scourge of global human trafficking, including working with the US government to suggest foreign relations policies that will hold perpetrators accountable. While slavery often occurs in hidden places, the brazen openness of this violation of international law demands that we take swift action to deter such actions in the future. We support President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and Attorney General Holder’s commitments to provide assistance to the Nigerian government through intelligence sharing and access to military and hostage negotiations experts. We implore the government and all other communities that concern themselves with human rights to continue providing support to seek swift justice against Boko Haram and to do everything in their power to ensure the safety of Nigeria’s greatest promise—its children.
We note the words of the Shulhan Arukh, which proclaims: “Every moment that one delays in freeing captives, in cases where it is possible to expedite their freedom, is considered to be tantamount to murder.” We hope that the State Department will bring its greatest resources and efforts to the fight for these girls’ lives and dignity, and we hope that you will call upon the Rabbinical Assembly and its members if there is a way that our members can advance this cause.
Rabbi Gerald Skolnik Rabbi Julie Schonfeld