Last week the International Conference on Genocide Prevention was held in Tel Aviv. The goal… to highlight Jewish and Israeli society’s contribution to genocide prevention. It also aims to raise awareness about genocide and the plight of refugees.
 
Academics, experts, and activists joined together for two days of talks.

Among them… Dr. Amos Avgar… an expert in social planning, welfare, community building and disaster assistance.

[Dr. Amos Avgar, Exec. Director, International Development, JDC]:
"We see that that is our responsibility to help those communities who are in need. We aren't doing the actual advocacy but we are working in the field."

Dr. James Smith is CEO of the Aegis Trust, a British NGO working against genocide. Dr. Smith explains how he became involved in combating genocide.

[Dr. James Smith, CEO, Aegis Trust]:
"After visiting the holocaust museum in Jerusalem we realized that this is something for everybody to understand, every body to learn from. Because if six millions Jews, in Europe, in so-called European civilization, could be slaughtered in this way and many of the groups under the Nazis, could it happen again? Maybe not in Europe, maybe somewhere else maybe to somebody else but if it can happen how do we learn to prevent it?”

Dr. Smith believes in raising awareness of crimes and atrocities taking place around the world. He says that everyone in the world can take a stance against genocide.

[Dr. James Smith, CEO, Aegis Trust]:
"We should do whatever we can in our power, to try make a connection, to try give a voice to those victims, to those people who are targeted because even in a small way we know that, multiplied over and over, it can make a difference."

NTD Tel Aviv, Israel