Refugee Journeys
There are many different journeys into Judaism today. The majority of Jews in Britain today arrived in the last 350 odd years, either as economic migrants, or as refugees. This is part of a long tradition of migration, begun with Abraham (or Abram as he was then) who is commanded to up sticks and go elsewhere.
Like many Jews who fled persecution and found a haven in the UK, refugees today continue to come and hope to find somewhere safe to rest. We are not being flooded, however today around half a million asylum seekers are destitute - walking miles on end to find help with food or clothing so as to save money on buses, living hand to mouth and day to day. This week is Refugee week, and the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) is campaigning to change the support systems so that asylum seekers won't arrive here to utter poverty and hopelessness. You can sign their petition here.
As a Jewish community we often use our own experience as a leaping off point to campaign for others. But it can be hard to understand something so distant and unseen, and so far from our day to day lives here. This powerful video might help redress that a little bit. There is some great work going on in synagogues and charities to support destitute asylum seekers, but hopefully next year we won't need a Refugee Week on which to focus campaigning because they will not need such campaigning and will be receiving appropriate and adequate support.
Like many Jews who fled persecution and found a haven in the UK, refugees today continue to come and hope to find somewhere safe to rest. We are not being flooded, however today around half a million asylum seekers are destitute - walking miles on end to find help with food or clothing so as to save money on buses, living hand to mouth and day to day. This week is Refugee week, and the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) is campaigning to change the support systems so that asylum seekers won't arrive here to utter poverty and hopelessness. You can sign their petition here.
As a Jewish community we often use our own experience as a leaping off point to campaign for others. But it can be hard to understand something so distant and unseen, and so far from our day to day lives here. This powerful video might help redress that a little bit. There is some great work going on in synagogues and charities to support destitute asylum seekers, but hopefully next year we won't need a Refugee Week on which to focus campaigning because they will not need such campaigning and will be receiving appropriate and adequate support.
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