The Shoah was an unimaginable horror. Hence the rallying cry "Never forget," to make sure we remember what happened and how, in order that we may prevent it from happening again. Whatever issues may divide the Jewish community today, I suspect we remain united in our abhorrence of the Holocaust, and in our resolve to prevent another Shoah from coming to pass.

To my mind, that imperative applies to all attempted genocides, not only genocides where Jews are the intended target. If the memory of the Shoah is to have any meaning, it must impel us to act against all acts of genocide, because they are all unconscionable.

So go read this Reuters article, in which Kofi Annan warns of a Rwanda-style genocide in Sudan, happening right now. And then do something about it. If the issue gets enough attention, maybe someone will stop the genocide from continuing. If you're an American, you can start by calling your Senator or Congressman to urge them to speak out, and if they don't have a position on the issue, kindly educate them.

I pinched this shamelessly from Ethan Zuckerman's blog, along with the five URLs below which provide information about the current situation in Darfur. This may seem too far-away, or too huge and terrible, for us to be able to stop it -- but that attitude as good as guarantees that it will continue. As it is written in Pirkei Avot (The Wisdom of the Fathers), it is not incumbent upon us to finish the task, but neither are we free to refrain from beginning it. (Emphasis mine.)

A recent State Department briefing, which includes an exchange between reporters and State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli on the situation in Darfur.

President Bush's condemnation of the atrocities in Darfur.

Human Rights Watch report on atrocities in Darfur.

Amnesty International's report on Darfur.

BBC timeline on events in Sudan.