SLIDESHOW: This Sukkot, American Jews Stand With Refugees

By Gabe Cahn, HIAS.org

In recognition of the more than 65 million refugees and displaced people still wandering the earth in search of a safe place to call home, synagogues and families are “inviting” five individuals into their sukkah this year as they recreate the huts in which our Israelite ancestors found refuge.

By hanging the photos and accompanying narratives of five refugees, participants using HIAS’ Sukkot Resources are honoring the holiday by helping tell the story of people forced to leave home in modern times, such as four-year-old Rawan, who fled Syria as a baby and now lives in a refugee camp in Iraq with his mother and older brother.

Families across the country are utilizing these resources in their private sukkahs, as are many of the more than 200 U.S. congregations who have joined the HIAS Welcome Campaign as part of the Jewish response to the global refugee crisis.

To add a picture of your sukkah to our Sukkot slideshow, share your picture on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, tag @HIASRefugees, and use the hashtag #JewsforRefugees in your post, or email your picture to Rebecca Kirzner at rebecca.kirzner@hias.org.

To download the full set of HIAS Sukkot posters, click here.  

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