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UPDATES:

According to a November 23, 2009 email prepared by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

On October 19, the Obama Administration unveiled a new strategy toward Sudan that promises to offer incentives if Khartoum makes progress and "increased pressure" if it does not. The new policy includes several critical lessons from past dealings with the government of Sudan and outlines three priorities moving forward:

1. A definitive end to conflict, gross human rights abuses, and genocide in Darfur.
2. Implementation of the North-South CPA that results in a peaceful post-2011 Sudan, or an orderly path toward two separate and viable states at peace with each other.
3. Ensure that Sudan does not provide a safe haven for international terrorists.

On 4 March 2009 the International Criminal Court issued a revolutionary arrest warrant for the sitting head of state of the Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir.  Since news of this arrest warrant surfaced, al-Bashir's government has forced humanitarian aid agencies out of the Sudan.  In addition to the many news corporations covering this warrant, Wikipedia has a running encyclopedic entry on the subject, available here.

For information on the Darfur conflict as it currently stands, please continue below and consider viewing Wikipedia's entry on War in Darfur.

According to a campaign email sent by the Save Darfur Coalition on September 30, 2009:

In the build up to elections scheduled for April, not only has violence in South Sudan increased—but last week we received disturbing news of new attacks in Darfur.

Aerial bombardments and ground assaults by the Sudanese army and janjaweed militia drove thousands of civilians from their homes in Darfur.

After a period of relative stability, the situation in Darfur is again degenerating.  Thousands of people whom we thought had been spared in the melee are now again at risk.

The Robert Goodis Foundation, in coordination with the Save Darfur Alliance and all our partners, is stepping up efforts to promote sustained peace in Sudan.  To join the efforts of the Save Darfur Coalition, click HERE.

A very brief summary of the conflict:

Sudan has faced conflict throughout its history.  The South of the Sudan remains on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience genocide watch-list, having lost more than 2,000,000 people to a series of civil wars.

Conflict in Darfur, western Sudan, gained attention rapidly beginning in early 2003 when a top UN official declared the conflict as the "worst humanitarian crisis in the world today."

Attacks on Darfuri civilians have declined since 2005, and a peace treaty was signed by some of the involved parties in May 2006.  The region remains insecure and is prone to small-scale incidents of violence.  Estimates vary significantly, but the most commonly indicated number of deaths in Darfur is around 400,000 since 2003.

Some of the most critical issues in this conflict:

• Government and private militias are attacking unarmed civilians, killing an estimated 400,000+ since 2003.
  
• Fighting is rooted in ethnic and socioeconomic ties.  Many political theorists indicate oil-money as an inciting point behind the genocide.
• The majority of deaths reported are women and children.
• The majority of deaths reported since 2004 could have been prevented with proper humanitarian care: food, water, medical treatment, sanitation.
• Women and young girls are commonly subjected to rape, while men and boys are more often tortured and killed.
• Peacekeepers, though present, are not adequately trained or equipped to have any effect.

Check out:

 Robert Goodis Foundation store,
 Darfur Peace and Development,
 And these other great resources.

Helpful resources and links are also available for more information on Darfur and our partners, as well as the many other subjects discussed on The Goodis Center's website.

Feel free to contact Robert for more information or to provide feedback.

Interesting Fact:

Robert Goodis Charities' Save Darfur fundraisers helped to get Barack Obama elected to the presidency.

How?  The story is simple:  the Save Darfur yarmulke campaign proved so effective and original that Obama campaign managers decided to tap into the same audience in an unprecedented political move: Obamakas.  The Barack Obama yarmulkes are based entirely on Save Darfur yarmulkes.  They have given a little credit to Robert Goodis Charities and the Save Darfur Yarumlke campaign along the way, but no reports have really set the record straight.  Bloggers still speculate on the origins of the Obamaka.
Evidence, you ask?  Here's a copy of an email sent from an Obama campaign-volunteer to Robert Goodis:

August 9th, 2007     4:44PM

Dear Robert,

Hi. This is Josh from AJWS. I've actually recently left AJWS, but wanted to ask you a question. Can you tell me where you order the Save Darfur kippot from? I am volunteering with the Barack Obama campaign doing Jewish outreach and I suggested that they make up Barack Obama kippot like you did for Darfur.  I've found some websites, but wanted to ask which one you used.

All the Best,
Josh

 Click the above photo to help provide high-efficiency stoves to Darfuri refugees.

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