Topic: Iran

Jul 6, 2016

When I walk into the cultural orientation session, intended to help prepare this group of Iranian refugees for life in the U.S., they are in the middle of a game. All of the participants, young and old, jump up and rush to find seats. One young woman, who is not trying particularly hard to find a chair, feigns disappointment at having to answer the next question.

Dec 23, 2015

Last week President Obama signed into law a massive $1.1 trillion bill to fund the government. Nestled deep in the bill was a small provision that makes a world of difference to families who are persecuted due to their religious beliefs.

Jun 19, 2015

HIAS Steps in to Take Over NY Resettlement Operation Jun 19, 2015 (NEW YORK, NY)—HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees, has officially taken over the Federation Employment & Guidance Service’s (FEGS) resettlement program in New York after FEGS declared bankruptcy for unrelated reasons. HIAS will assume responsibility for the resettlement operation in New […]

Nov 12, 2014

Perhaps the most important value my family instilled in me as I was growing up is that “we were the lucky ones.” We were lucky to leave Iran just weeks before the fall of the Shah in 1979. We were lucky we had family in Israel.

Oct 23, 2014

Every once in a while a refugee comes along who not only takes challenge head on, but works to help others with their challenges. This is the story of Sadaf Sedgh.

Aug 28, 2014

Paving the Path to Freedom for Iran’s Religious Minorities By Caroline Gobena and Sheeva Seyfi Aug 28, 2014 Caroline Gobena and Sheeva Seyfi, summer interns with HIAS Vienna Systemically persecuted, Iranian religious minorities cannot apply for resettlement to the United States from Iran because there is no U.S. embassy. Instead applicants—Armenian and Assyrian Christians, Baha’is, […]

Jul 31, 2014

HIAS is proud to announce that this month the U.S. granted asylum to Mansoor Osaloo, one of the founders of the Vahed Syndicate, a free trade union representing Tehran’s bus workers, who endured torture and the daily threat of being killed to fight for improved working conditions in Iran.

May 22, 2013

Behind Iran’s menacing foreign policy is a fractured internal state that is becoming increasingly totalitarian. News agencies do not frequently report on this aspect of Iran, but religious persecution in Iran is rampant.