HIAS+JCORE’s landmark ‘Strangers to Neighbours’ conference stressed the vital role Jewish communities can play in welcoming refugees and fostering societal cohesion, with attendees hearing how they can make real, lasting change.
Held at JW3 on 27 April, and run ahead of this year’s Refugee Week (16-23 June), the event provided a springboard for further action within the Jewish community.
The conference, HIAS+JCORE’s first, brought together communal leaders, activists, and local and national refugee organisations.
“We are so much stronger together”
Opening the day, HIAS+JCORE’s Executive Director Rabbi David Mason stated his vision for Jewish communities to be “at the centre of transforming refugees and those seeking asylum from being outsiders – to being our neighbours and friends.”
Emphasising the importance of partnership and the transformative work already being undertaken by Jewish community members and organisations, Mason also addressed the need for policy change.
While praising the “return of compassion to policy” since the 2024 General Election, he urged the new government to go further, challenging the political leadership to have “the bravery and strength to take these values of compassion and responsibility and see off those who would demonise and divide”.
Highlighting that victories against the Rwanda plan were only possible through community power and mobilisation, Mason stressed that “there’s so much we can achieve as a movement”, and called for the current refugee citizenship ban for those entering the country irregularly to be scrapped.
“We’re committed to maintaining those traditions”
We were delighted to feature a special video address from Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP, Minister for Border Security and Asylum. Stating that “this country is compassionate and sensitive to the plight of those fleeing persecution and conflict”, the Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to “continue helping the world’s most vulnerable people.”
Eagle also highlighted the steps the Government has taken, and progress made since the election, to clear the backlog and fix the broken asylum system – with an approach matching compassion and control.
And acknowledging the Jewish community’s long history of seeking refuge in the UK, the Minister paid tribute to the many groups within our community who stand on the frontline to support refugees.
“I thought I can’t turn my back on them”
The conference then highlighted impactful work synagogues are already doing to put Jewish values into action. Joining HIAS+JCORE’s Deputy Director Amos Schonfield, Jill Prager, founder of the Ukraine refugee drop-in at Kingston, Surbiton and District Synagogue, and Anna Becker, Project Coordinator at the LJS Drop-in for Asylum Seeker Families, provided insights on two projects providing direct support to refugees, and advice on getting similar activities off the ground.
Both panelists stressed the importance of such groups in creating and providing community – and the power that this can have both for the beneficiaries and volunteers involved. Anna Becker emphasised “that sense of belonging is so impactful”, and also affirmed the importance of this work for interfaith understanding and mutual learning.
And Jill Prager highlighted her project’s human impact, sharing how connecting one participant to craft sessions had “given them a new walk of life.”
“We are building a wider movement of welcome”
Continuing the theme of providing welcoming space within the Jewish community, we were pleased to welcome Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Officer at City of Sanctuary. Speaking ahead of the launch of our joint ‘Synagogues of Sanctuary’ project, Sian shared how communities can take action and formally embed a culture of supporting and advocating for refugees.
Joining Sian, HIAS+JCORE’s Deputy Director Amos Schonfield urged synagogues to sign up: “Community is our superpower. It’s time to show it.”
Look out for the full launch of Synagogues of Sanctuary later this year!
“Granting protection is something we should feel proud of”
Moving on to policy change the community should support, the final session brought together Kamena Dorling, Head of Policy at the Helen Bamber Foundation, Kolbassia Haoussou, Director of Survivor Empowerment at Freedom from Torture, and Eliza Ward, Frontline Support Manager at HIAS+JCORE.
All spoke of the need to ‘lead by compassion’, with Eliza and Kamena stressing the impacts of the UK’s asylum system on children and young people. Eliza stressed how UK policy intensifies the isolation faced by many, and how it continually presents barriers to their integration into UK life.
The ’immediate culture of disbelief’ towards children, and failure to provide them with the same rights or view them as deserving, was also addressed by Kamena.
Kolbassia then provided important insights on the need to ensuring people with lived experience lead and shape this work. He concluded with a call for hope, reminding the audience of the power that mass movements hold, and past campaign successes – including the recent reversal of the Rwanda plan.
We were delighted that the day was such a success and look forward to building on the many positive discussions. Together, we can truly show that we are a community of compassion.
Speaking after the event, HIAS+JCORE’s Executive Director Rabbi David Mason said: “The conversations we started today are just the beginning of a wider story. I truly feel that today’s event can be the start of something special.
And I’m filled with optimism by seeing so many community members here today, knowing that together, we are building a far stronger movement of compassion, of solidarity, and of welcome.”
Our Executive Director Rabbi David Mason addressing the conference audience.
Our drop-in panel provided inspiring insight into the amazing work synagogues do to support refugees.
We can’t wait to launch Synagogues of Sanctuary later this year – watch this space!
Our advocacy panel was a thought-provoking finish to the day, balancing hope with the urgent need for action.
