http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-854702.mp3
Kansas City , Mo. – More than a hundred people in the Kansas City area will be fasting today in protest to the genocide and repression in Darfur. They will also study the situation there, and write their elected officials.
The fasting began last spring around the country when Washington Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism fasted for three days. Jews and members of other faith groups have been participating in what's been called a "rolling fast" since then to raise awareness of President Omar Bashir's ban on aid to Darfur. Bashir expelled relief agencies after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes.
The Congressional Black Caucus also has joined the protest.
Associate Director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau Judy Hellman says the most important thing is that elected officials know their constituents care about this issue: "A hundred people have gone without food. If we don't let them know that Darfur a priority with us,they're the people closest to having some influence on the situation and it's our responsibility to insist that they make this a priority."
The groups will gather tonight at 7:30 at the Jewish Community Campus in Overland Park and at North Oak Christian Church on the North Oak Trafficway.
