Refugees and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)

Many European Jews are refugees or the descendants of refugees and identify with the plight of today’s refugees and asylum seekers. The EUPJ is committed to helping refugees and asylum seekers, and as a result, in September 2019, EUPJ Brussels helped HIAS open its Brussels office.

Founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in 1881 to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe, HIAS has touched the life of nearly every Jewish family in America and now welcomes all who have fled persecution. Watch this 2-minute video: HIAS: For the Refugee.

Because HIAS has helped more than 4.5 million people escape persecution, the organisation is uniquely qualified to address the modern refugee situation, which has mushroomed into a global humanitarian crisis.

HIAS understands better than anyone that hatred, bigotry, and xenophobia must be expressly prohibited in domestic and international law and that the right of persecuted people to seek and enjoy refugee status must be maintained.

And because the right to refuge is a universal human right, HIAS is now dedicated to providing welcome, safety, and freedom to refugees of all faiths and ethnicities from all over the world.

HIAS is the only global Jewish organization whose mission is to assist refugees wherever they are.

Find out more about the European branch of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).