The first of your weekly news updates on refugee issues around the world by Isobel Fraser. The Czech Republic has been criticised for its treatment of refugees. Reports cited by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, claim that refugees held for “administrative offences” have been strip-searched in order to retrieve […]
Deborah Koder co-founded and co-ordinates the New North London Synagogue drop-in for asylum seekers. Taking place once a month, the drop-in supports asylum seekers in the UK, offering them a range of services, as well as food, clothing and supermarket vouchers. Read more about it here. To say I was moved to help by […]
This is a Rosh Hashanah sermon, written and delivered by Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, rabbi of New London Synagogue. Delivered 14 September 2015/1 Tishri 5776. Read the original posting of this sermon and more sermons by Rabbi Gordon here. I gave a sermon earlier this year. It was after the death of one of my heroes, Sir Nicholas […]
This was a speech delivered by Souleymane of the Freed Voices group to Jewish community members who gathered at the JW3 centre on October 7 ’15 to determine how best to respond to the ongoing refugee crisis. It was first featured on Detention Action page and can be read here. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My […]
Sam Grant is Campaigns and Programme Manager for Rene Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights. What is the issue? This year has seen the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Amid heated debate about the UK’s response, the shameful truth is that Britain is the only country in Europe where asylum-seekers are […]
Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah is the rabbi of Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue. She delivered this sermon on Shabbat Lech L’cha/Saturday 24 October 2015. Over the past four years, the news has been dominated by the refugee crisis; in particular, by the millions of refugees fleeing from the conflict between the extremist warriors of so-called […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]