NEW YORK, February 4, 2007 — Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), strongly supports the resolution to divest New York City’s pension funds from companies doing business in Sudan. Her statement is below.
“It is truly heartening—as a former Manhattan borough president and now as president of American Jewish World Service, an organization leading the campaign to end the genocide in Darfur for the past three years—that New York City will not remain silent in the face of crimes against humanity. This past September at the Save Darfur rally in Central Park, New Yorkers stood up and spoke out. Now we are taking back our dollars from companies that fund Sudan’s continuing brutalization of the people of Darfur. Targeted divestment is an absolutely critical strategy for stopping the flow of money that funds the genocide. I urge the City Council to pass this resolution and to make New York City a leader in using its resources to put an end to the horrors in Darfur.
“American Jewish World Service is the first national Jewish organization to endorse targeted divestment. In the next few weeks, American Jewish World Service will launch a multi-state grassroots campaign to promote a nationwide divestment effort. This national divestment movement tells elected officials that their constituents are concerned, intensifies the pressure on the Sudanese government, and sends a strong message to the world: Genocide of the people of Darfur must stop NOW.”
– Ruth Messinger, President, American Jewish World Service
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