Almost 40 students were in attendance for the launch of HIAS+JCORE and UJS’ Student Refugee Ambassador Programme in London last Sunday (16 November).

This exciting new initiative will equip students with the skills to advocate for refugees, connecting Jewish values and history with the need for action to support people seeking safety today.

A total of 26 different institutions from across the UK were represented, with students joining from Scotland to Sussex, Wales to Yorkshire, for the programme’s first session.

The event opened with an inspiring series of video messages from leaders across the Jewish community and refugee sector. Students heard from the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis MBE, Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford, and Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council.

In his video, the Chief Rabbi praised SRAP as a “wonderful programme” and celebrated that “so many outstanding students have… joined”, before stating that “the plight of refugees is something which our sensitive Jewish souls feel continuously”.

Lord Dubs – the veteran refugee campaigner – also congratulated the students, applauding how the project will help “enable asylum seekers and refugees to integrate into life in this country. That is so important, as I know from my own experience.”

Alongside empowering young people to become the next generation of campaigners, the programme gives participants a unique opportunity to explore their own Jewish identity.

HIAS+JCORE’s Executive Director, Rabbi David Mason, used his session to draw on the parallels between Jewish teaching and the realities faced by displaced people today. David explored how migration is a recurring theme from Creation to the Exodus and beyond, and the ways that Jewish values of compassion, solidarity, responsibility and partnership drive HIAS+JCORE’s work.

This theme was central throughout the day and key to the event’s keynote panel. Joining David were two speakers who shared powerful insights into their own lived experience of the UK’s asylum system – Abdullahi Yussuf, winner of the 2025 Lord Dubs Award for Emerging Leaders, and Kemi Ogunlana, a Nigerian refugee, and former guest at the US Chesed Asylum Seeker Drop-in. Each spoke movingly about the daily reality of the UK government’s asylum policy and challenges it creates, before answering questions from the captivated audience.

It was an important conclusion to a deeply impactful day. Students will now take part in three further online sessions – where they will meet leading parliamentarians, meet sector experts, and build their own projects for Refugee Shabbat 2026 – before graduating in May 2026.

Yael Peleg, Community Engagement Director at HIAS+JCORE, said: “We’re really proud to be working in partnership with UJS on this programme. Together, we’re empowering the next generation of young Jewish activists for refugees – the future truly is bright.

It was rewarding to be joined yesterday by so many passionate and committed students. Amidst rising division, SRAP will play a critical role in putting Jewish values into action and creating welcome, continuing our community’s proud history of standing in solidarity with displaced people.”

Samantha Lewkowicz, Social Action & Holocaust Education Sabbatical Officer at the Union of Jewish Students, said: “Creating SRAP has given Jewish students across the UK a platform to highlight the real struggles faced by refugees and asylum seekers. At a time when our news feeds are filled with divisive narratives and misinformation, it is incredibly refreshing to see 50 exceptional students that are dedicating their time to stand up for refugee rights in the UK.”