In case you missed it:

• In Aruba, HIAS, Clients Work Together Through Pandemic – In response to the refugee situation in Aruba, HIAS established an office on the island in 2019 to help Venezuelan refugees recover from trauma and to deal with the stresses of living without legal status. Three stories from Aruba illustrate what the lives of refugees there are like – and the resilience they have shown during the pandemic.

• Israel Scholarship Ceremony Spotlights Social Activism – HIAS Israel has given scholarships to student immigrants, or olim, since the 1970s. This year, we awarded 46 scholarships to students from eight countries, the majority from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. The scholarship recipients were selected out of more than 400 applications by a team of volunteer judges, most olim themselves,.  

• HIAS Puts Chromebooks and Computer Education In The Hands of Clients – In partnership with local affiliates, HIAS has distributed more than 600 Chromebooks — inexpensive laptops that run on relatively simple software – to clients across the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A series of videos helps teach newcomers to use the machines, allowing them to access a wide range of vital services.

• HIAS Condemns New Trump Administration Asylum Regulations – On Dec. 11, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security finalized a rule that restricts most aspects of the U.S. asylum system. “We continue to oppose every provision in this rule, because they fly in the face of U.S. obligations to ensure that people seeking protection in the United States have access to an asylum system that adheres to our immigration laws,” said Naomi Steinberg, HIAS’ vice president for policy and advocacy, in a statement.

Watch and Learn:

• Mandy Patinkin Shares What Refugees Have Taught Him with HIAS Assembly – Patinkin and his wife, fellow actress and activist Kathryn Grody, joined HIAS’ National Jews for Refugees Assembly on Dec. 14 to celebrate Hanukkah and tell HIAS supporters why welcoming the stranger is so important to them. “Anybody that wants to have a decent life, that’s oppressed, that’s our obligation,” Grody said during the virtual event.

• Book & Film Club: Jessica Goudeau, ‘After the Last Border’ – HIAS’ virtual Book and Film Club welcomed Dr. Jessica Goudeau to discuss her book, "After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America." Goudeau shared everything from how she came to form a relationship with women whose stories featured in her book to the role of faith in her advocacy for refugees.