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Christian and Yazidi Children in Iraq

In every generation, there are those storied lives of people, basically seemingly regular, ordinary people, whose sense of moral clarity, compassion and courage to act in historic moments is so crystal clear that they ultimately come to pierce the definition of ordinary. They become truly extraordinary.

Among us is just such a person. And he needs all of our help. I want to tell you about Steve Maman. But first, you should mentally cue the hauntingly sad, lyrical and melancholic melodies of “Schindler’s List.” That music is indelible, its evocative power flooding our emotions and thoughts with the drama of 1,200 rescued Jews from the jaws of a Nazi fate.

We are constantly exposed to the news cycle of the horrific, ever expanding brutalities and atrocities perpetrated by ISIS upon innocents. As the vicious bar of violence keeps being raised we feel helpless. Our hearts squeeze in pain for a fleeting moment as we audibly “tsk tsk” cluck our tongues, overwhelmed by the bad feeling of what can we do? Or the anger of this must be stopped! Yet, human nature presses us forward to our next task, and until the next news story about an atrocity in a faraway world we put it in the back of our minds, and forget.

Not Steve Maman.

As he was watching the news one day, caged girls about to be set aflame by ISIS, he reached his breaking point. Randomly glancing at his wrist to check the time, he realized the money his watch is worth could buy one of these persecuted Yazidi girl’s way out of persecution, torture and death-to freedom.

And so it was.

Steve Maman, a Moroccan Montreal Jewish businessman began sinking his personal funds into saving Yazidi girls captured by ISIS. As his efforts grew, he enlisted the help of his family, friends and community in trying to bring the release of these Kurdish ethnic victims of Iraqi kidnapping.

Working side by side with humanitarian Canon Andrew White, he has saved over 100 children.

As the operation grew, Steve Maman’s immersion and commitment to this endeavor intensified. Not satisfied with saving some of these captured girls, he is forging ahead until all the Yazidi children are relocated to a safe haven. By now, it is this “ordinary” man’s life’s work.

He anticipates this goal can be achieved within one year.

In that spirit, this past June, Maman established the liberation of “Christian and Yazidi Children in Iraq” (CYCI).

To be sure, the journey has not been an easy one. Maman has faced obstacles by those trying to stymie his efforts, going so far as trying to shut his efforts down.

Some have expressed doubts about Maman’s work, claiming his efforts actually fund ISIS.

To that I say, how many of us Jews have heard time and gain of hundreds if not thousands of Holocaust survivors who shared their tales of luck in bribing a Nazi officer to escape with their lives? I can tell you right now what their answer to those opposing Maman would be. As they look upon the visages of their children and grandchildren, the look in their eyes would be enough of a reply.

As Maman points out, every time we fill up up our cars at the gasoline station, we are monetizing oil, helping ISIS.

Claiming “principle” and pretending to act and live as purists, really, now is not the time.

Here is a Jew, carrying a sense of history upon his soldiers, remembering and knowing that not long ago we were the persecuted minority who was abandoned by most of the world. Steve Maman is a person who is acting with true Jewish consciousness and compassion, representing the Jewish people with kindness and ethical responsibility.

What Maman is doing is something every single Jew can agree on. Maman’s humanity represents the essence of what a humane Judaism looks like and demands of us. We can all contribute a musical note to the score that is at these very moments in the making.

As another Jewish rescuer, Lord George Weidenfeld, a British publishing magnate who escaped Nazi-occupied Austria with the help of a Christian group, recently commented about his work in rescuing Syrian refugees, “I had a debt to repay.”

Now is the time to do the right thing by these Yazidi Christians. Maman has made it possible. I hope our Denver Jewish community will be a significant partner in this humanitarian effort, in helping Maman and CYCI prevail.

Let’s be a part of this story. This melody. This mitzvah.

Copyright © 2015 by the Intermountain Jewish News



Tehilla Goldberg

IJN columnist | View from Central Park


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