Havurah member Michael Rice will present the storied history of HIAS from documentary sources, with personal insight as the son of James Rice, HIAS executive director 1956-1966.

From predecessor organizations dating to 1870 in New York assisting Jews immigrating to the US or fleeing pogroms, HIAS has sheltered and supported refugees for over 150 years. Along with other Jewish organizations, HIAS took on the rescue and resettlement of Holocaust survivors during World War II and the post-war era. In 1965, thanks to the strong advocacy of HIAS and others, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended decades of discriminatory nationality quotas.

Now HIAS operates with 1,800 employees in 20 countries in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Israel, with a large team at our Southern border and in Mexico. Asylum protection, resettlement of Afghan, Ukrainian, Venezuelan and other refugees through Jewish communities, and political advocacy for legal and budget support are ongoing work.

Building Entry for Lifelong Learning Activities
For security reasons, the building always remains locked. It is the responsibility of member participants to bring the door code and use it to come inside. Since the code cannot be transmitted by email, please contact one of our staff if you don't have it yet: Rachel Pollak (503-248-4662, ext. 2) or Tara Anderson (ext. 4).

If you are not a member of Havurah, we hope you will join us for this class, but we cannot share the code with you. Call or text the phone number attached to the door when you arrive, and a participant will come let you in.

We also want to encourage you to arrive on time, particularly those who do not have a code. This will minimize disruptions for students and teachers.

Volunteer opportunity! On the first day of class, the instructor will ask for someone to share their phone number on the door sign and monitor their phone alerts so that others can be let into the building to attend class. If you can help in this way, please tell the instructor. Thank you!

Accommodations
Havurah Shalom strives to offer accessible programming and spaces to all. If a reasonable accommodation can improve your experience of this activity, please email info@havurahshalom.org.