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American Jewish Community Supports the Cause of Iraqi Christians Washington, D.C. – In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 36 prominent national and local Jewish organizations urged the United States to do more to help rescue Christians and other religious minorities fleeing Iraq. The letter to Secretary Rice, which was spearheaded by HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, asserts that the American Jewish community owes its existence to the welcom= which first generation Jewish-Americans received here after fleeing religious persecution. Our own history, comb=ned with the fundamental Jewish principle of Piddyon Shevu=im (redemption of the captive) compels us to urge that the United States Refugee Program provide a similar welcome to religious minorities who have been fleeing Iraq.” The letter also mentions that between 1948 and 1970, 150,000 Jews were forced to flee Iraq a civilization where they had resided since biblical times. Only a few do=en remain today. With Iraqi Christians now making an ex=dus from Iraq, the parallel to the Jewish experience is clear.=/P> “We are particularly empathetic to the plight o= Iraqi Christians,” says Gideon Aronoff, president and CE= of HIAS. “We can’t ignore a parallel to=our own history as striking as this.” “We are truly grateful for this showing of supp=rt from HIAS and the Jewish community,” says Joseph T. Kas=ab, executive director of the Detroit-based Chaldean Federatio= of America. “Our historically close collaboration wit= the Jewish community has been very helpful for all involved, especial=y in situations like the one in Iraq, where HIAS and our oth=r Jewish community partners have worked side-by-side with us=to help all religious minorities.” It is estimated that more than 1.2 million Iraqis have =led their country since 2003, the letter explains. �=80�We would like to make a special plea for those refugees with family=20 ties to the United States,” the letter states. =E2��The Jewish community continues to have nightmares from more than 60 y=ars ago, when many of our brothers and sisters in Europe were denied refuge and reunification with family members living=in the United States.” A hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary =n “The Plight of Iraqi Refugees” is schedule= for this Tuesday, Jan. 16, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226, =t 2 p.m. A tentative witness list includes the Hon. Elle= Sauerbrey, assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the U.S. Department =f State; “Sami,” a former translator for the=U.S. military; “John,” a former truck driver (subcontract=r) for the U.S. military; Captain Zachary J. Iscol, of the Foreign Militar= Training Unit, Marine Forces Special Operations Command at=20 Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Lisa Ramaci-Vincent, executive directo= of the Steven Vincent Foundation; Ken Bacon, president of Refugees International; Michel Gabaudan, regional representative for the U.S. and Caribbean Office of the Un=ted Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The names of=20 “Sami” and “John” were cha=ged to protect their identity. The letter to Secretary Rice and its signatories follow= this release. January 12, 2007 U.S. Department of State Dear Madame Secretary: The American Jewish community owes its existence to the=20 welcome which first generation Jewish-Americans received i= the United States after fleeing religious persecution.&nbs=; Our own history, combined with the fundamental Jewish principle of Piddyon Shevuyim (redemption of the captive), compels us to urge that the United States Refuge= Program provide a similar welcome to religious minorities =ho have been fleeing Iraq. Our community is particularly empathetic to the plight =f Iraqi Christians, whose current exodus is reminiscent of t=e Jewish exodus from Iraq between 1948 and 1970, when approximately 150,000 Jews were forced to flee a civilizat=on where they had resided since biblical times. Only a =ew dozen Jews remain in Iraq today. According to a report cit=d in the Department of State’s International Religio=s Freedom Report for 2006, “after a series of church bombing= and incidents of violence targeting Christians over the past t=o years, more than 200,000 non-Muslims left the country or f=ed to the North.” Many have fled to neighboring countries which are not e=en signatories to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status =f Refugees, which protects asylum seekers from involuntary return to countries where they may face persecution. Most Iraqi refugees in these countries cannot work lega=ly to support themselves, and their children cannot attend school. Rather, their children are often forced to w=rk in sweatshops where they are paid little – or noth=ng at all – as unscrupulous employers realize these refugees have no l=gal recourse to complain about unpaid wages. Iraqi refug=es so fear deportation and attracting the attention of authorities that they avoid seeking emergency medical assistance, and do not contact the police when victimized =y crime. The international community is doing little to protect these asylum seekers. According to a January 2, 2007=20 article in the New York Times, last year the Syria office =f the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),=20 which is mandated to protect Iraqi refugees, had to do so =ith less than one dollar per refugee. This year, the U.S= Refugee Admissions Program – with a resettlement t=rget of 70,000 refugees worldwide - plans to offer resettlement to=20 only a few hundred Iraqis. According to most estimates, more than 1.2 million Iraq=s have fled their country since 2003. The United State= must show greater leadership in protecting them; particula=ly those religious minorities – the Christians, the M=ndaeans, and the Jews – who have no hope of imminent return= as well as those who fled after being threatened for having ties to t=e United States. We urge the Administration to contribute significantly greater resources toward basic protection and services for=20 Iraqi refugees within the region, schooling for their children, and resettlement to the United States for those =hom a safe and voluntary return to Iraq is unlikely, including=20 many Iraqi Christians, Mandaeans and Jews. We would like to make a special plea for refugees with family ties to the United States. The Jewish community continues to have nightmares from more than 60 y=ars ago, when many of our brothers and sisters in Europe were denied refuge and reunification with family members living=in the United States. In the 50 years following the Holocaust, the Department of State seemed to have learned = lesson, and allowed far greater opportunities for Vietname=e, Soviet, Bosnian, and other refugees with family and other =.S. ties to apply for resettlement. We ask that the Administration give similar considerati=n to those Iraqi refugees who have family members in the Uni=ed States – or who are targeted for associating with =he United States in Iraq – and permit them to apply directly=to the United States for resettlement. The U.S. Refugee Pro=ram should no longer require refugees with such ties to the Un=ted States to obtain a resettlement “referral�=9D from the UNHCR, which needs to direct its scarce resources toward tending =o the protection and assistance needs of all Iraqi refugees =n the region. Thank you very much for your consideration Sincerely, National Local and Regional
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