Progressively Speaking: We owe it to our ancestors to help refugees
Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi writes about the Jewish perspective on International refugee week
Eighty years ago my father, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, arrived in this country aboard the SS Bodegraven from Holland. The boat had been commissioned by Gertrude Wijsmuller to bring him and other children from the Amsterdam Orphanage to safety.
However, it was not a safe journey and the boat was torpedoed on the way. Finally, they reached British waters, but it took several days for them to be given permission to land.
As we mark Refugee Week, I am even more conscious of my father’s legacy, and the legacy of so many of our parents and grandparents.
History repeats itself, as can be seen in a short film, available on Vimeo, that my father made before his death called The Story of Harry and Ahmed, which also gives the account of a young Syrian refugee.
Thousands of desperate people continue to go to sea in inadequate vessels in order to flee persecution – and many of them drown.
Their plight was highlighted recently when the body of 15-month-old Artin Iran Nezhad, who was found in Norway.
The flimsy boat carrying him and his family capsized off Dunkirk and his family, including children aged six and nine, and all drowned.
The government is proposing to deny refugee status to asylum seekers who do not come by recognised routes. But it is in the very nature of seeking asylum that it is often done by clandestine and dangerous routes.
The only real way to stop people taking desperate measures to reach safety is to find some way of keeping them safe in their home countries. That, of course, is a long-term goal. In the meantime, we must have the humanity to recognise our responsibility to help other human beings whose lives are in danger.
Sending back boats or similar measures will only increase the dangers and result in more tragic loss of life. My father said: “If we can save even one life, we should do so”, echoing the Mishnah, which teaches, “Whoever saves a single human soul is as if they save an entire world.”
We owe it to our own parents and grandparents and our long history of having to flee persecution to help the present generation of refugees, to ensure that they are treated humanely and with compassion and to make sure that children such as Artin no longer lose their lives in their search for freedom.
- Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi serves Birmingham Progressive Synagogue
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.
