WASHINGTON – The American Jewish World Service called on the Obama administration to pull ambassadors from Uganda and Nigeria because of what it says are escalating anti-gay and other repressive measures by those governments.
In a statement, AJWS asked US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday to bring ambassadors from those two African countries back to the United States “in order to evaluate future diplomatic relationships.”
Ruth Messinger, the president of AJWS, cited Nigeria’s new laws targeting the LGBT community and the Ugandan government’s blocking of political demonstrations, banning the wearing of revealing clothing as well as its anti-LGBT policies. “We must send the message to both governments that these actions have consequences,” she said.
“As Jews, we know all too well that the stripping away of human rights from specific groups of individuals is often a precursor to targeted destruction,” she said in the statement. “We cannot continue to conduct business as usual while people lose their freedoms just because of who they are and whom they love. We must act now to put an end to this injustice.”
AJWS provides development assistance in Africa and other parts of the world.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this