Congregation Beth Israel Receives Award for Helping Ukrainian Family

Congregation Beth Israel (CBI) has received the Pathways Leadership Award from the non-profit organization, HIAS, for its efforts to help a Ukrainian family relocate in Scotch Plains. This award is bestowed upon congregations that exhibit extraordinary work helping refugees, asylum seekers and other forcibly displaced people.

Under the auspices of CBI, several congregants and other community members formed a “Welcome Circle” in 2022 to sponsor a Ukrainian family forced to leave their war-torn homeland. The volunteers worked with HIAS, one of the oldest refugee resettlement agencies in America, as well as the U.S. government’s “Uniting For Ukraine” program, through which qualifying Ukrainians can come to the U.S. for up to two years on “humanitarian parole,” which differs from refugee status. The Welcome Circle accepted financial responsibility for a family of four – two parents and two daughters, ages 2 and 10 – for six months, and helped them acclimate to life in the U.S. after their arrival in February 2023.

HIAS was originally founded over 100 years ago as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. It now draws on its Jewish values and history to provide vital services to refugees and asylum seekers from all faiths and communities around the world, and advocates for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.

Members of CBI’s Welcome Circle took on varied responsibilities, including: raising substantial funds; renting an apartment; finding translators; school enrollment; managing benefits applications; transportation; locating medical professionals; and more. The members set up a donation site to provide the family with everything from groceries to furniture. Over the next year, volunteers signed up for various tasks, from helping to deliver furniture to offering rides to appointments. These tasks evolved as the family’s needs changed over time.

“We couldn’t have helped this family or earned the Pathways Leadership Award without the generous contributions and efforts of so many people in our synagogue community,” said Laurie Woog, who co-chaired CBI’s Welcome Circle along with Karen Simon. “We often feel helpless in the face of conflict and the overwhelming number of displaced people around the world. The Welcome Circle model provides a way for people in the U.S. to offer a small amount of tangible assistance to individuals and families fleeing danger or persecution.”

Woog acknowledged the hard work of the Welcome Circle steering committee, as well as the support of CBI’s Rabbi Tilman, who encouraged his congregation to participate in the Welcome Circle as an expression of the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger and refugee. Woog also noted the helpful contributions of individual translators, ESL volunteers, and civic and private organizations in the Westfield and Fanwood-Scotch Plains areas.

Congregation Beth Israel is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue, serving the religious, educational, cultural and social needs of congregants from Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Westfield and surrounding towns. It is located at 18 Shalom Way, Scotch Plains, NJ (corner of Martine Avenue). For more information about the synagogue, call 908-889-1830.