​More than 200 Jewish Orgs and Congregations Call on Biden Admin to Appoint Afghan Refugee Special Envoy

WASHINGTON — More than 200 Jewish community organizations and congregations, led by HIAS, signed a letter calling on the Biden administration to appoint a special envoy for Afghan refugees. 

HIAS, alongside organizations representing the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist movements, as well as the National Council of Jewish Women, J Street, and American Jewish Committee, called on the Biden administration to appoint a special presidential envoy for Afghan refugees to continue evacuation efforts for all U.S. allies and their families, even as the last American military personnel have left Afghanistan. The letter also asked to expand the Priority 2 (P2) designation to include religious minorities who remain at risk under Taliban rule, an end to Afghan national deportations, and to designate Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). 

“As Jews, our faith commands that we must assist the most vulnerable and that every human being is entitled to dignity,” read the letter. “We stand ready to welcome Afghan refugees and help them start their lives anew in the United States.” 

“There is no leadership in this crisis and there is no special envoy who is overseeing the humanitarian evacuation of the SIV process and the refugee process,'' Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of HIAS has said in recent media interviews. “There has to be leadership on this issue and it must be someone with authority.”

Full text of the letter with the complete list of signers can be seen here. 

To speak with Hetfield or other signees, please contact Shamari White, HIAS@westendstrategy.com, or (202) 412-4270. 

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