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Sep 10, 2015

Letter to The Forward: The Answer Lies in the Refugee Convention of 1951

For refugees, the 1951 Convention is Torah. We can get lost in arguing about its meaning and interpretation, but the guiding basic principles and values are very clear. Our obligations toward refugees are the same no matter who they are, no matter who we are, no matter what other countries are doing, or are not doing.

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Sep 10, 2015

A Reflection on Refugees for Rosh Hashanah

On Rosh Hashanah, we pause to reflect on our hopes for the year ahead. Because the Torah teaches over and over again that we should love the stranger in our midst, we hope for a good year to come not only for ourselves and our families but also for all those fleeing persecution in search of safety and freedom.

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Sep 10, 2015

Jewish Week: Obama Agrees To Settle 10,000 Syrians; HIAS Wants 100,000

President Barack Obama has directed his administration to prepare to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, up from 1,000 this past year – but that’s far fewer than the 100,000 Jewish refugee aid organization HIAS wants the U.S. government to resettle, The Jewish Week reports.

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Sep 10, 2015

BuzzFeed: Refugee Advocates Say Obama’s Plan To Take In 10,000 Syrians Is Not Enough

The White House’s plan, announced Thursday, “shows no leadership,” the President of HIAS told BuzzFeed News. “it’s not even enough to be a symbolic gesture.”

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Sep 9, 2015

KQED Radio: Should the U.S. Be Doing More to Help Solve the Syrian Refugee Crisis?

KQED Radio: Should the U.S. Be Doing More to Help Solve the Syrian Refugee Crisis? Sep 09, 2015 HIAS Vice President of Policy and Advocacy Melanie Nezer appeared on San Francisco NPR affiliate KQED's Forum program to discuss U.S. refugee policy. Note: Nezer first appears at 17:15 in the program. European Refugee CrisisRefugee ResettlementSyria

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Sep 9, 2015

The Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Jewish Sense of Responsibility

The Jerusalem Post reached out to Jewish aid organizations across the globe to find out what role they are playing to help refugees from Syria and the region and spoke with HIAS President and CEO Mark J. Hetfield.

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Sep 9, 2015

World Politics Review: Why the U.S. Has Accepted So Few Syrian Refugees

"As the plight of Syrian refugees and their harrowing attempts to enter Europe dominate international media, calls have mounted for the United States to play a greater role in managing the crisis," Karina Piser writes in World Politics Review. “This isn’t how the refugee referral process should be happening,” says Melanie Nezer, vice president of policy and advocacy at HIAS.

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Sep 8, 2015

Time: How to Talk to Your Kids about Refugees

American kids have great opportunities to get involved, thanks to a “robust refugee resettlement program” in the U.S, either through secular programs like the International Rescue Committee, or faith-based groups like the HIAS.

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Sep 5, 2015

Mark Hetfield on NPR: Europe, US Treating Crisis Like “Business as Usual”

HIAS President and CEO Mark J. Hetfield discussed the current European refugee crisis and what the US should be doing to help with NPR's Robert Siegel on All Things Considered, Friday September 4.

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Sep 3, 2015

Legal Fellows Fight Eritrean Grandfather’s Detention

Gebre* thought that fleeing the chaos in Eritrea would keep his family safe. That hope was shattered in July of 2012, when a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the Jerusalem apartment Gebre's daughter (seven months pregnant at the time) and son-in-law share. The two were badly injured and extremely traumatized. The attack was just one in a string of xenophobic attacks against African migrants in Israel.

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