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The clock is ticking. The bell rings every second as the CEO of an organization trying to drive American Jews, rabbis, and the families of our staff out of Afghanistan.
The season of reflection and reconciliation is approaching us. Our name is engraved with life or death.
Americans must make their pledges well and take concrete and swift action to expel these Afghan families and allies. President Joe Biden must instruct his administration to create a swift process to evacuate them. This is a moment when you can’t wait until all the details are resolved.
I can’t imagine how scary it must have been to see the abandoned people closing the gates at Kabul Airport and leaving the last flight, knowing that they faced danger alone.
NS Last member of the Jewish community in Afghanistan I left the country this week. Still, there are many other people in need, our Muslim allies. In the text messages and voice emails we receive, despair is obvious. We are left behind, they tell us. The gate is closed. The road is not safe. We are hiding. Please help us, they ask.
I’ve heard a voice message of shooting on the street. A horrifying phone call from a Panjshir family on Tuesday said the Taliban had dragged all men aged 10 to 65 out of their homes and executed them on the streets. The 10-year-olds were killed just because they existed. Their blood is in our hands.
“Never forget” is a call for action
As Jews, we are familiar with this story. We know what it is like to be afraid of children’s death. These families are at risk For their work with the US Government and our army.
Our staff feels helpless. They are working tirelessly to save 123 people, many of them in the family of our team. Seventy-three of them are children who have been forced to play hide-and-seek with the Taliban. In a voice message from Kabul, I heard the children laughing quietly in the background, even though my parents were talking in despair.
As a Jewish social welfare organization, our response to this crisis is urgent and familiar. There is a painfully obvious reaction between what is happening in Afghanistan today and what we people have endured down to the Holocaust. People are being hunted. Hidden family. I heard about children executed on the street.
“Never forget” is a call to action, not just a suggestion to remember. For our Jewish community, it doesn’t matter what we are trying to save Muslims. As our tradition teaches, “one who saves one’s life saves the whole world.”
As Americans, we have a moral obligation. People of all faiths are religious as well. Today, the call for history echoes loudly. “”In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible“Rabbi Joshua Heschel said in 1972. These words are as true today as they were 50 years ago.
We are judged by our actions and indifference. Our words and silence. Many of my faithful colleagues, as well as community leaders and resettlement heads, are regrettable. I can’t accept that the US government isn’t doing well. We have to do better. I have a resource. Will is required.
What is the actual plan to save lives?
This should not be reduced to politics. No vague promises are needed. You don’t have to ask, “We are working on it.” We cannot accept being directed to a dead-end website or email address where no one responds.
We need to know what the plans are to save the lives of these people. Who has the authority to act? People need to empower rather than wait for guidance.
There is no definite answer.I’m improvising and communicating Special immigrant visa Safe home family. They are scared and afraid that the world will move after the sight of the rushing withdrawal of the United States. It’s because of them that they can’t move on until they’re safe.
At the beginning of this summer The State Department has caused a surge in staff Helps relax the backlog of passports so that people can take summer vacation. Why can’t the Department of State increase the number of people to handle special immigrant visas and save the lives of family and friends who have fought against the military and government?
The Biden administration must complete its mission. If you let these people die, the mission will not be completed.
I can’t afford the time. The longer this is, the more desperate the left-behind people will be. You cannot urge people to take dangerous land routes based on rumors, speculation, or hope. Prioritize reducing bureaucracy and evacuating these refugees to all intermediaries. Create safe corridors and charter flights. Reopen the airport in Kabul. At the very least, it helps determine what is fact and what is fiction.
Each of us should feel standing in front of the Gate of Repentance this season as the horns of Lamb blow at the end. Never forget that we can give our allies a chance to live as we are sealed in the Book of Life and Death. If you let allies die, the mission will not be completed. We are all judged by both what we are doing and what we haven’t even tried.
Rabbi Wilbelkovitz CEO of Jewish Family Services, Seattle-based social welfare institution Established In 1892, vulnerable individuals and families will help achieve well-being, health and stability.
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This article was originally published in USA TODAY: Abandoned in Afghanistan: People are killed by the Taliban
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