New student ambassador scheme aims to train UK Jewish activists on refugee rights

Nearly 40 students join HIAS+JCORE and UJS programme fostering Jewish-led advocacy on UK refugee issues

Almost 40 Jewish students from 26 universities and colleges across the UK have joined a new initiative designed to build the next generation of refugee rights campaigners.

The Student Refugee Ambassador Programme (SRAP) – launched on Sunday by HIAS+JCORE in partnership with the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) – opened with a full-day session in London featuring senior communal leaders and refugees sharing first-hand experience of the UK asylum system.

Participants heard video messages from key Jewish and interfaith figures, including Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani, and Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon.

The Chief Rabbi praised the scheme as a ‘wonderful programme”, saying, “the plight of refugees is something which our sensitive Jewish souls feel continuously,” and expressed hope that the students’ efforts would “bless… many of our fellow citizens and human beings from around the world”.

Veteran campaigner Lord Dubs also congratulated the cohort, describing SRAP as a project that will help “enable asylum seekers and refugees to integrate into life in this country. That is so important, as I know from my own experience.”

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Rabbi David Mason, UJS sabbatical officer Samantha Lewkowicz, Abdullahi Yussuf, Kemi Ogunlana and HIAS+JCORE’s Yael Peleg at the launch of the Student Refugee Ambassador Programme in London.

A core part of the launch explored the Jewish ethical framework behind refugee advocacy. Rabbi David Mason, Executive Director of HIAS+JCORE, examined how themes of migration run throughout Jewish history – from Creation to Exodus – and how Jewish values of compassion, solidarity and responsibility shape the organisation’s work today.

Mason was joined for the keynote panel by Abdullahi Yussuf, winner of the 2025 Lord Dubs Award for Emerging Leaders, and Kemi Ogunlana, a Nigerian refugee and former guest of the US Chesed Asylum Seeker Drop-in. Both spoke candidly about navigating the UK’s asylum system and the challenges created by current government policy.

The programme will continue with three online sessions over the coming months, connecting students with parliamentarians and refugee-sector experts, before participants design their own projects ahead of Refugee Shabbat 2026. Graduation is scheduled for May 2026.

Yael Peleg, Community Engagement Director at HIAS+JCORE, said: “We’re really proud to be working with UJS on this programme. Together, we’re empowering the next generation of young Jewish activists for refugees – the future is truly bright. Amid rising division, SRAP will play a critical role in putting Jewish values into action and continuing our community’s proud history of standing in solidarity with displaced people.”

Samantha Lewkowicz, UJS Social Action & Holocaust Education Sabbatical Officer, added: “Creating SRAP has given Jewish students across the UK a platform to highlight the real struggles faced by refugees and asylum seekers. At a time when our news feeds are filled with divisive narratives and misinformation, it is incredibly refreshing to see 50 exceptional students dedicating their time to stand up for refugee rights in the UK.”