From the Guardian, July 8, 2015:
Last week I travelled on a minibus from north London with a group of elderly members of our synagogue to the Houses of Parliament to meet their local MP, Mike Freer, and discuss the refugee crisis in Syria.
Anyone looking at us would have seen a group of retired doctors, social workers, teachers and accountants, but the conversations inside that bus revealed an extraordinary gathering of people. As we journeyed they shared their own experiences and trauma of being child refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria, most of them coming to this country alone. Despite the time that had passed, their recollections of realising, as children, that there was something terrible and wrong happening in their home countries, were still raw.
The group met Ayham, a recent refugee from Syria, who has come to this country through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme. This unlikely meeting of an elderly Jewish group with a young Muslim man, organised by Citizens UK, was a powerful moment. Many of our group saw themselves in this young man, and that meeting brought a sense of mission to us all.
It was clear that there was a sense of solidarity between the refugees, and Ayham was equally touched, saying: “My younger brother is very ill, he has leukaemia, and we were able to come to the UK to be with him and help him, we hope, recover. His terrible situation has meant we are now some of the lucky ones…
If the government in the 1930s had listened to the critics who said we didn’t have room, and we had enough problems caring for our own, then the entire group stood before the Houses of Parliament with me would not have survived. We should not forget that the Daily Express in its editorial on the issue on 19th June 1939 was less than charitable saying: “There is no room for any more refugees in this country.” But instead the Kindertransport and many other refugee programmes undertaken since are part of a proud British tradition of helping those in most need…
We’re pledging a warm welcome for newcomers offering everything from English language classes to invites for mother and baby groups. In our synagogue in north London we already run a refugee drop in session every Sunday where people come together to share food, offer advice on how to settle into the local neighbourhood and navigate British systems as well as link people up to groups like our knitting club. It’s our way of making people feel welcome.
You can encourage your local council to work with us here: Save Lives by Helping Resettle Refugees
Rabbi Mark Goldsmith is a member of Citizens UK and rabbi at Alyth synagogue, in Golders Green London.
Nowhere does the rabbi bother to argue that admitting low-IQ Syrian immigrants will benefit Europe. Nowhere does the rabbi argue that Israel should take this poison (Muslim immigrants who hate it).
At least this refugee crisis presents us with a clearer picture of those such as Rabbi Mark Goldsmith who are working from within to destroy us.
