Photo Gallery: Jewish Rally for Refugees in Silicon Valley

SILICON VALLEY, CA -- Hundreds of people filled the Mountain View Civic Center Plaza on the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 12 as part of a Jewish rally for refugees. The participants joined with rallies organized across the country, as part of a national day of action in support of welcoming refugees.

The rally was part of a group of events nationwide organized by HIAS, an American charitable group formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Participants brought photos and stories of their own immigrant and refugee family members, with one young speaker, local high school student Josh Eichbaum, telling the story of his grandparents’ immigration to the United States.

Local rabbis spoke of the religious teaching to welcome strangers.

“Recent actions against refugees and immigrants are in direct conflict with American and Jewish values, and ignore difficult lessons learned from the history of the Jewish people,” said Rabbi Jonathan Prosnit of Congregation Beth Am.

Judith Rabbie spoke of the hardship she faced acclimating to new cultures after escaping Hungary, and urged participants to welcome those immigrating to the U.S. Nina Luu spoke of her own experiences as a refugee from Vietnam, and of the many countries that welcomed her family as they fled.

Mountain View Vice-Mayor Lenny Siegel, joined by Palo Alto City Councilmen Cory Wolbach and Adrian Fine, called for all to be welcome in Mountain View and the greater Peninsula.

Ishaq Pathan, representing the Islamic Networks Group, encouraged continued partnership between Muslims and Jews seeking justice in modern times, saying that the two groups would stand up for each other in times of need.

Participants sang “This Land is Your Land” and “Gesher Tzar Maod,” a song describing the whole world as a narrow bridge. They chanted “Love, not fear, refugees are welcome here.”

Mindy Berkowitz of Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley urged the crowd to take action to help local refugees and immigrants, volunteer with resettlement agencies and continue their advocacy at local and national levels.

More information on the national day of action is available at http://www.hias.org/day-of-action.

Images courtesy Micaela Hellman-Tincher