Plus: Wonderful News For Asylum Seekers in Israel

April 2020

HIAS Partners Find Ways to Stay Connected to Clients During Pandemic
 
With COVID-19 restrictions in place around the country, resettled refugees have been cut off from vital face-to-face support from case managers, volunteers, and others. But HIAS’ affiliates are getting creative and finding new methods to help their clients remotely. Here's how HIAS' partners are adjusting.

As the situation around COVID-19 changes every day, so do our response pages. Check HIAS.org for the latest info on our operations.

HIAS Applauds the End of Israel’s Deposit Law
 
On April 23, the Israeli Supreme Court struck down the country’s Deposit Law, which withheld 20 percent of asylum seekers’ salaries as an incentive for them to leave the country. The decision will give asylum seekers and their families badly needed financial relief amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about HIAS’ work on this issue.
Refugees Answer the Call to Help in New York
 
With the coronavirus tearing through New York, Afghan refugees Farid and Wahida Popal wanted to help, not hunker down. Farid joined the virus response team at White Plains Hospital and Wahida is helping sew thousands of protective masks to distribute to medical facilities.
Find out more about the Popal family.
Things to Know About Refugees and COVID-19
 
Few people are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than displaced persons, whether from lack of sanitation, health care, jobs, or legal protections. Here are some vital things to remember about the needs and rights of displaced persons during the outbreak. Read the full list here.

 More news and stories on our blog.

In case you missed it:

  • Former HIAS Chair Dianne Lob Confirmed as Conference of Presidents’ Chair-electFormer HIAS Chair Dianne Lob was elected as chair-elect of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, U.S. Jewry’s foreign-policy umbrella group. A daughter of German Jewish refugees, she will be the third woman to lead the organization when she formally takes office next year. Read the HIAS Statement
  • A New Home in a Country Shuttered by a Pandemic The New Republic examined the hardships faced by resettled refugees during the pandemic, finding that many are losing jobs and running out of money just as their American lives were getting on track. Alicia Wrenn, HIAS’ senior director of resettlement and integration, and Elizabeth Mandelman, our senior director of advocacy and policy, both weighed in on the difficulties.
  • We must recommit to helping refugees. We all come from Egypt In a Passover op-ed he wrote for The Forward, HIAS Chair Bob Aronson urged Jews to remember that refugees, asylum seekers, and other especially vulnerable populations are in need of protection and compassion. “We must not invent new Pharaohs where none exist and hoist bricks on the backs of those who, like us, seek freedom.”  
  • Leahy and Lankford Urge Relief for Asylum SeekersSenators Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, issued a statement calling on the Department of Homeland Security to help asylum seekers whose resettlement has been halted by COVID-19. The senators want the government to extend the validity of those asylum seeker’s documents so they can still be resettled when travel restrictions end. HIAS’ policy and advocacy team worked with Leahy and Lankford to issue the statement.

Take Action:

Did you know that HIAS is on LinkedIn? You can also find us on Instagram and Medium.

 

For up to the minute news and updates, follow HIAS on Facebook and Twitter

 
 
supporter