WHAT'S A HANUKKAH COCKTAIL?

For more than a century, HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, has had an extraordinary impact on millions of Jews. For generation after generation, HIAS has provided essential lifesaving services to world Jewry, through its mission of rescue, reunion and resettlement. As an expression of Jewish tradition and values, HIAS also responds to the migration needs of other people who are threatened and oppressed.

Started in New York City by a group of Jewish immigrants who found sanctuary in the United States after fleeing persecution in Europe, HIAS offered food, shelter and other aid to countless new arrivals. Since its founding in 1881, HIAS has assisted more than four and a half million people in their quest for freedom. This includes the million Jewish refugees it helped to migrate to Israel (in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel), and the thousands it helped resettle in Canada, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere.

As the oldest international migration and refugee resettlement agency in the U.S., HIAS also played a major role in the rescue and relocation of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust and of Jews from Morocco, Ethiopia, Egypt and the communist countries of Eastern Europe. More recently, since the mid-70s, HIAS has helped more than 300,000 Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union and its successor states escape persecution and rebuild new lives in the United States. As the migration arm of the organized American Jewish community, HIAS also advocates on behalf of refugees and migrants on the international, national and community level.

To fulfill its mission, HIAS:

• Provides information and a broad program of services at all stages of the migration process for refugees and migrants;
• Serves as a communications link between clients, communities of resettlement and government authorities;
• Advocates for fair and just policies affecting refugees and immigrants;
• Provides a cultural orientation for those legally eligible to enter the U.S. as refugees;

To better help clients, HIAS provides a wide array of pre- and post-migration services, such as:

• Advice and assistance for prospective refugees and immigrants both overseas and in the U.S., including creditable, timely migration information on U.S. policies and procedures;
• Help in evaluating whether individuals qualify for an immigrant visa petition and aid in preparing documents (immigration to the U.S. is based upon family relationships or employment);
• Training tools to help prepare for the naturalization exam and interview and assistance in completing the applications;
• Legal counseling and representation at immigration proceedings before the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals (in the New York City area);
• A multi-lingual correspondence hotline to answer questions about immigration procedures and eligibility;
• A worldwide location service to find relatives and other missing persons;
• Scholarships for former clients and their children to help these new Americans pursue their educational and career goals. (Many scholarships are also awarded to refugees who have made aliyah and are pursuing post-secondary education in Israel .)

As the link between clients, the Jewish communal network and government authorities, HIAS:

• Works with a Jewish network of nearly 200 affiliated agencies in the U.S. in communities that emigrés can call home and provides information about these newcomers to the communities;
• Administers the federal grant programs for Jewish resettlement in the United States and monitors refugee resettlement throughout the country;
• Consults on immigration, resettlement and naturalization issues with communities throughout the U.S. and abroad.

To advocate for the needs of Jewish and other migrants at the international, national and community level, HIAS:

• Provides national and international leadership in the advocacy of policies and programs affecting refugees, in consultation with the U.S. government and voluntary organizations;
• Monitors U.S. government activities on immigration-related issues and intervenes on behalf of migrants and the American Jewish community;
• Monitors country conditions for Jewish populations in different parts of the world;
• Educates the American Jewish community on issues of concern and coordinates advocacy efforts;
• Participates in local and national coalitions of human rights and immigration organizations to effect positive changes for people at risk.

HIAS operates via an international network of Jewish communal and humanitarian organizations. To carry out its mission, HIAS maintains offices and representatives at various sites around the world. An international body of community leaders from the United States and abroad serves on its Board of Directors and Regional Councils.