Rabbis of different denominations blast funding-cut for asylum seekers

Rabbis of different denominations have collectively cried foul against the Government’s decision to cut funding for asylum seekers in the UK by a third.

Orthodox, Reform and Liberal rabbis spoke out last week, saying the measure would “hit children hardest” and leave the most vulnerable families “destitute”.

The cuts will affect almost 28,000 people, with single parents of two children dropping from £149.85 per week to £110.85, and single parents with one child go from £96.90 to £73.90.

“There is real anxiety that these cuts will force more vulnerable asylum seekers, especially children, into destitution,” said Edie Friedman from the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE). “With many having experienced great hardship already in their lives, we as a society should be offering them more than poverty.”

The letter is the latest condemnation of Government policy towards asylum seekers and refugees from rabbis. They have criticised the indefinite detention for asylum seekers in the UK, the failure to resettle more Syrian refugees and the decision not to support search-and-rescue operations for those crossing the Mediterranean Sea.