Jewish refugee group joins 200 organisations in call to end anti-refugee hostility

A leading Jewish refugee charity has joined more than 200 organisations in signing an open letter to the UK’s political leaders condemning a wave of anti-refugee protests across the country.

HIAS+JCORE, whose executive director Rabbi David Mason sits on the steering group of the Together With Refugees coalition, co-signed the statement alongside groups including Amnesty International UK, Care4Calais, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, and the End Violence Against Women Coalition.

The letter, coordinated by Together With Refugees, called the protests “distressing to witness” and said they were fuelled by “pernicious and insidious currents of racism and hatred” that leaders had a duty to confront.

Rabbi Mason said: “It’s not so long since Jewish refugees sought the UK’s protection. Many were welcomed – but others faced bitter opposition. The appalling violence we saw last summer echoed some of the worst of that hostility.

“So, it’s painful to see further anti-refugee protests against people needing that same sanctuary… For too long, politicians and parts of the media have fuelled hate and division. Our government has failed to show the brave leadership needed to reject that path and forge cohesion.”

Speaking on LBC, Mason said Jewish values of “compassion and responsibility” demanded fairness for those seeking safety, recalling how his grandparents escaped Nazi Germany to Britain despite public protests at the time.

“There’s a growing sense of demonising asylum seekers,” he told presenter Ben Kentish. “We can have a mature conversation about policies without fear, hate, and demonisation – they are not British.”

Protests were held outside hotels housing asylum seekers over the weekend, with counter-demonstrators often outnumbering them. In Bristol, campaigners said 50 anti-refugee protesters were met by around 400 people showing solidarity with refugees.

Together With Refugees, the UK’s largest pro-refugee coalition with more than 600 member organisations, used the weekend to promote its “Welcome Weekend” of community events, urging leaders to commit to a fair asylum plan that upholds international obligations and provides safe routes to protection.

Full Letter:

Dear Party Leaders

Anti-refugee protests across the country have been distressing to witness, with echoes of last summer’s riots making them all the more alarming.

Many of the people targeted have already suffered unimaginably, having fled for their lives from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria.  Now, due to unacceptable delays and a broken system, they are housed in hotels, a collective target of hostility, banned from working, with limited control over their lives or futures.  Believing they will at last be safe and protected, they are then faced with further persecution and fear.

It is clear that major action is needed. It is time for you, our leaders, to take a strong and united stand.  The pernicious and insidious currents of racism and hatred underlying these protests are glaring evidence of a failing system. The responsibility to end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past is yours. Only then will you bring unity instead of division and cohesion rather than hate.

For those who need our compassion to be confronted with further torment here in the UK is shocking.  But the outpouring of support from communities condemning the hatred is a powerful reminder that these views do not represent the vast majority.  Today we stand in solidarity with those targeted, because this is what represents our country, this is who we are.