Jerusalem, September 5, 2007 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the decision by the Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit to grant citizenship to hundreds of Darfur refugees.

In commending Minister Sheetrit's decision, ADL also called on the international community to do more and join Israel in efforts to deal humanely with the refugees.

ADL's Israel Office issued the following statement:

Israel has made the right decision to give permanent sanctuary and citizenship to several hundred refugees from Darfur. ADL has long believed that it is the moral duty of the Jewish nation to do all it can to alleviate human suffering caused by genocide wherever it arises. In dealing with these Darfurians, the State of Israel has faced a difficult decision, balancing moral obligations with security, economic and other considerations.

The international community must join Israel in efforts to deal humanely with the refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan where at least 200,000 people have been brutally killed and millions driven from their homes since 2003. 

The international community has a moral responsibility to stop the slaughter in Darfur and to provide assistance to the refugees.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.