Education
WJCI strives to mobilize and educate our community about the challenges facing asylum seekers, refugees and all immigrants through town halls, informational meetings, newsletters, and action alerts.
Current Initiatives
Are you a teen who is passionate about supporting refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants? Click here to discover more educational opportunities for your community and how to get involved.
To learn more about the importance of an Afghan Adjustment Act, please click here and review this HIAS factsheet.
Past Initiatives
Meetings with Legislators
Meetings and conferences play a crucial role in protecting refugees. WJCI members have met with legislative teams from New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand’s office, and with our local Congressional Representatives Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones, and Sean Patrick Maloney to advocate for human rights and social justice for our local and national immigrant communities. These meetings are an opportunity for our members to speak out for those who do have a voice.
RIGHT TO COUNSEL
WJCI HOSTS RIGHT TO COUNSEL EVENT
WJCI hosted a unique community-wide "action" with Westchester Right to Counsel (R2C) as an introduction to the issue of the lack of right to counsel for families (low income, immigrant, people of color, etc.) who have been hit hard by the pandemic and may be facing eviction when the moratorium on evictions is lifted. It concluded with concrete steps that each community can impact our local legislators.
BORDER REPORT: CHILDREN IN NEED
WJCI hosted a countywide event to educate our community about advocating for immigrant children impacted by the situation at the southern border. Speakers included Rabbi Shoshi Levin Goldberg from Temple Israel Center, Andrea Rudnick from Team Brownsville, Eddie Chavez Calderon from Arizona Jews for Justice, Bertha M. Rodriguez, Esq. from Community Resource Center, and Marti Michael from Grannies Respond/Abuelas Respondent. WJCI also heard about how to help children from the border living in our community at the Abbott House in Irvington and Children's Village in Dobbs Ferry. To watch the recording of the event, please click here.
IMMIGRANTS RIGHTS THROUGH A JEWISH LENS
WJCI’s December 2021, event "Immigrant Rights Through a Jewish Lens" added meaning and joy to the last night of Hanukkah as we lit the last Hanukkah candle, shared personal refugee stories, listened to Klezmer tunes from Jay Elliot, and learned from our impressive panelists Rebecca Kirzner, HIAS, Rabbi Margo Hughes-Robinson , T'ruah, Noelle Damico, The Workers Circle, Rabbi Les Bronstein, Bet Am Shalom Synagogue and Patrick Young, New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC).
Highlights from Our 2022 World Refugee Day Event
Join WJCI and the Shames JCC on the Hudson to learn about the refugee experience through shared storytelling and culture. On this year’s World Refugee Day, as forced displacement hits a record-breaking high, together we celebrated resilience and support resettled families in our community.