STREAMING March 3-10 | The Cave, an award-winning documentary film set in Syria ZOOM March 8 at 1:00pm PST | Shadi Martini, Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees Watch the film online March 3-10 and join us for a Zoom discussion with Shadi Martini, Executive Director of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, on March 8  REGISTER HERE […]

As Jews, we understand what it is like to be strangers in a strange land. Our Jewish communal story is replete with times when our people have sought refuge in foreign places. With a panel of experts, moderated by our own Julie Marzouk, join us for a meaningful discussion about refugees and asylum seekers, and […]

The United States evacuated some 76,000 Afghan during the fall of Kabul last August. 32 Afghan families from the evacuation are now being resettled throughout the country. Three families in Orange County and 7 families in Los Angeles are being resettled through HIAS Welcome Circle volunteers.  Welcome Circles for the second wave of Afghan evacuees […]

REGISTER HERE Join OCJCR leadership to learn about the myriad ways to become engaged with volunteering to help refugees and asylum seekers. You will have the opportunity to listen to short presentations about each area of OCJCR's work, meet with committee chairs, ask questions, and let us know how YOU would like to be involved. […]

Join us Thursday, May 12 at 7pm PT for a screening of Soledad and conversation with the legal team. Click here to register Soledad tells the story of a young woman from Central America who was imprisoned in the Eloy Detention Facility when she sought asylum in the United States in 2017. Soledad set out on a perilous journey […]

Register to attend here. Please join us on Sunday, August 7 at 3 pm for our annual Tisha b’Av program at Temple Beth El in South Orange County. As we reflect on the losses Jews have suffered as a persecuted and displaced people many times over, we honor our obligation to help and connect with people […]

Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK “Go back to where you came from, you terrorist!” This is just one of the many warm, lovely, and […]

Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives by Viet Thanh Nguyen THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK “In this collection of 17 essays (one consisting of cartoons) by writers who were forced to leave their homes, Viet Thanh Nguyen, a Pulitzer-winning novelist and himself […]

Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK “Dina Nayeri’s powerful writing confronts issues that are key to the refugee experience.” ―Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer and The Refugees What is it like to […]

Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK The Barbarian Nurseries examines the class and ethnic divide in modern Southern California. It was a New York Times Notable Book; and a winner of the California Book Award Gold Medal for […]

Refugee Shabbat 2023 Refugee Shabbat, which will take place on February 3-4, 2023, is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals in the United States and around the world to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers. The fastest-growing European refugee crisis since World War II is still ongoing. People seeking asylum are being […]

“We Refugees” will be the theme of HIAS National Refugee Shabbat services, led by Rabbi Rachlis and Cantor Braier, with UCI Prof. Julia Lupton Friday, February 3, 2023 • 12 Sh'vat 5783 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM University Synagogue For more information and to register, Click here.