A top Jewish immigration group — an organization “Founded in 1881 originally to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe” — is fighting to bring Syrian refugees to America. The group is called HIAS, which once meant Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
Mark Hetfield, the president and CEO of HIAS, emailed supporters last week to thank them for their generosity.
“We are leading the American Jewish response to the Syrian refugee crisis. We are on the ground in Europe and, more importantly, demanding that our own government and others around the world take bold action to ensure that Syrian refugees can rebuild their lives in safety and freedom,” Hetfield boasted.
On its website, the Jewish group is calling for the United States to bring in 100,000 Syrian refugees.
“Stories and photos documenting the unspeakably tragic plight of Syrian refugees have shocked the world.
“We cannot stand by idly and watch the largest humanitarian crisis of our generation unfold. Our country and the American Jewish community must step in now to provide protection and aid for Syrian refugees,” Hias writes on its website.
“Secretary of State Kerry recently announced that the United States will take in 15,000 refugees above our normal refugee resettlement operations (85,000 in total in Fiscal Year 2016, 100,000 in 2017). This is a symbolic gesture—not a response to a crisis.
“Please ask the President to resettle 100,000 Syrian refugees in the United States, to provide aid to the severely underfunded humanitarian efforts abroad, and to make resolution of the conflict in Syria a foreign policy priority.”
