Kagame, Weisel, Adelson, Steinhardt and Boteach in Panel on Genocide

In the wake of the recent chemical weapons attack in Syria, the fear of genocide has once again been cast on a world stage. This World: The Jewish Values Network will present an historic panel, “Genocide: Do the Strong Have a Responsibility to Protect the Weak?” on Sunday, Sept. 29^th  at the Great Hall at Cooper Union. The panel will discuss the upcoming 20^th Anniversary of Rwandan Genocide and the international focus on preventing genocide in Syria and other nations.

Panelists include: President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, widely credited for putting an end to the genocide in his own country; Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, who through his writing and lecturing is the world’s leading authority on the Holocaust and world genocide; Philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, the world leader in funding holocaust memory, and Michael Steinhardt, co-founder of Birthright Israel, the world’s most successful Jewish educational project. The discussion will be moderated by “America’s Rabbi,” Shmuley Boteach, founder of This World: The Jewish Values Network. Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, University Chaplain of New York University and Director of the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at the school, will provide opening remarks.

The event will be held at The Great Hall at Cooper Union, The Foundation Building, 7 East 7^th Street, New York. Program begins at 6:30 p.m..

“This panel discussion brings together two of the most famous names in the world related to genocide in the 20^th century—President Kagame, who stopped the world’s fastest ever genocide, and Elie Weisel, the living embodiment of the memory of the six million martyrs of the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Boteach. “I travelled to Rwanda twice, just recently again with my family, and shared with President Kagame my strong belief in his joining Prof. Wiesel in a public forum to motivate the world’s nations to prevent genocide. It is our hope that the world can learn from both these men in order to prevent the future mass slaughter of innocents..”

Rabbi Sarna highlighted the moral implications this discussion promises to highlight for the emerging adults and students.

“This event presents a rare opportunity to bring together people who not only have been witness to moral failing, but who have played important roles in bringing healing. University students in particular are hungry for bold voices which address 21st century realities,” Rabbi Sarna said.

This World: The Values Network seeks to bring universal Jewish values to the mainstream culture via the mass media. This World was founded by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Boteach is the international bestselling author of 29 books, including “The Fed-Up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy and Suffering.” In November he will publish “Kosher Lust” based on the Bibilcal book of “Song of Solomon.” The Washington Post and Newsweek call him “the most famous rabbi in America.” The Jerusalem Post counts him as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world.