Refugee Crisis Update from World Jewish Relief

Richard Verber is Campaigns Manager for World Jewish Relief, the UK Jewish community’s international humanitarian agency. In the evening of September 2 pictures started to circulate round the world of one boy: Alan Kurdi. His image would grace the front cover of nearly every British newspaper the next day. Three years old, from Syria, he died […]

You shall love the stranger – he is like you!

This is a Yom Kippur sermon, written and delivered by Rabbi Lea Mühlstein, rabbi at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue. 23 September 2015/10 Tishri 5776. A couple of days ago, Rabbi Andrew handed me a little book entitled “You and the Refugee.” It is a Penguin Special by Norman Angell and was first published in […]

Reflections from Calais

Nic Schlagman is the Community Projects Manager at West London Synagogue and recently visited The Jungle in Calais with a number of volunteers from Marom.   It is not easy to find the correct words to describe our recent visit to the refugee camp in Calais. Despite now numerous conversations with friends and colleagues the right […]

Europe’s response to refugees

In Europe we often view the current refugee crisis as one big issue, encompassing Syria, her neighbours and all of Europe. Daniel Trilling argues against this narrative – two separate crises are taking place, one involving Syrian refugees and one in European border policy. Trilling walks us through both crises. The various waves of refugees […]

Perceptions and misconceptions

It’s easy for us to judge other people without taking into consideration the real struggle they may face, whether it be a homeless person on the street or a preconception on somebody’s religion. This short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvOnXh3NN9w addresses a variety of sociological issues surrounding the historical, geographical and political situation in Syria. It also discusses the negative […]

Why the ‘refugee crisis’ isn’t really a crisis

Over the past few weeks the term ‘refugee crisis’ has become a regular headline and familiar term to all of us in the UK. The shocking pictures of drowning bodies, rough sleepers and hopeless people are reminders of past devastations; the 2005 Tsunami, the earthquake in Nepal and every civil war for the last 50 […]

Ever wondered why asylum seekers are entitled to housing?

Have you ever wondered why Asylum Seekers must be housed by the government whilst they wait for their asylum claim to be heard? It is because of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights –the right not to be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Find out more about it on […]

An update from Calais

This is a crosspost from Facebook Back from the Jungle today. The work people are putting in at the new warehouse is extraordinary. The ongoing work to make the distribution more efficient and more human is quite incredibly moving – with distributions turning into street parties. The goodwill and energy of the people in the […]