New York, NY, July 23, 2004…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today commended Congress for condemning the atrocities being committed in the Darfur region of Sudan as "genocide."   The House and Senate unanimously passed resolutions urging the Bush administration to lead an international effort to end it, and calling on the U.S. to seek targeted sanctions against Khartoum and enhance American relief efforts.

"We applaud Congress for this bipartisan effort to marshal support for a more robust U.S. response to the genocidal atrocities in Darfur," said Barbara B. Balser, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "As Jews, we are acutely aware of the lesson of the Holocaust, to never again remain silent in the face of such acts.  We are confronting a crisis which challenges us to action while there is still time, and not to delay as in the case of Rwanda.  Time is running out, but American pressure can still make a difference and reduce the death toll in Darfur."

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.