Angela Merkel to give Israeli aid charity top German honour for helping refugees
IsraAid will receive Integration Award for its 'bridge building' project, which provides support for refugee women living in shelters
An Israeli humanitarian aid organisation is to be given one of Germany’s highest honours by Chancellor Angela Merkel for its work helping refugees.
IsraAID, which has been operating in Germany since 2015, will receive the Integration Award on Monday for its Brückenbau (“Bridge Building”) project, providing psychological support in Arabic for at-risk refugee women living in shelters.
The refugees IsraAID helps are typically Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani, and the programme is run in conjunction with German-based Jews, in partnership with ZWST, the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany.
With Arabic, Hebrew, German and English speakers, IsraAID’s team comprises psychologists, social workers, art therapists and educators, the organisation now having helped support more than 100,000 refugees in Greece and Germany alone.
“Through our work, we have seen the power and potential of the refugees we work with as they write a new story for themselves and their communities,” said joint IsraAID chief executives Yotam Polizer and Navonel Glick.
“Only through working together with communities experiencing crisis can we build a better future, both for refugees and their hosts. We stand committed to this cause, and IsraAID will continue to support the needs of refugees and their hosts in the countries we work in for as long as we are needed.”
In the most remarkable humanitarian act in recent memory, Germany opened its doors to one million asylum seekers and refugees at the height of the crisis, as ISIS and other jihadists fought the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian backers.
The war brought havoc and bloodshed across much of Syria and Iraq and caused the biggest mass movement of people this century. Most European countries denied all but token entry.
Jewish groups in the UK, led by Kinder and Labour peer Lord Alf Dubs, have consistently asked Downing Street to allow more unaccompanied children in, but have been left disappointed.
IsraAID, which most recently deployed a team to Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, has focused its efforts on the global refugee crisis, with teams in Bangladesh, Germany, Greece, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda. It is an NGO and relies on donations.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
