We joined well over 100 people including Shomrei members Sarah Cortez and Greg Charak, in observing Tisha B’Av services outside Delaney Hall, the Newark prison operated by ICE to detain immigrants—in most cases illegally. The observance was sponsored by synagogues throughout Essex, Bergen, and Hudson Counties. We gathered on a cool summer night to stand for people from other communities who now endure their own tragedy, and are thus prohibited from standing and gathering with their communities and families.

We sat outdoors singing psalms, offering prayers, and reciting the Book of Lamentations. The setting for the service was outside a white hospitality tent, staffed most days by volunteers who greet family members visiting the 800 men and 70 women incarcerated indefinitely without the benefit of having seen a judge or lawyer in the large concrete prison. In other words, no due process, no trial.

The evening summoned for us stories from the Torah. The white tent for hospitality reminded us of Abraham. The innocent people in a prison called forth the story of Joseph. In the midst of a large dull gray brick prison in the background, we sat under a canopy of myriad trees, which created a welcome breeze. The passing truck drivers honked in solidarity and evoked similar images our ancestors encountered—passersby who offered a feeling of meeting unexpected friends. Parallel to our singing, the community and supportive drivers were an industrial wasteland of rocky hills, steel fences, highways, and a nearby toxic sewage dump. Despite this backdrop, our community offered a loving presence in a dark place.

The service began with psalms and prayers, then the recitation of Lamentations in Hebrew and English. After the service, the majority of us walked over to the prison gates, singing in English and Spanish a song written by children locked up in ICE prisons nationwide. “I’ll sing from here/and you sing from there/together, we’ll sing down the walls everywhere/with love in our hearts/rising up like the sea/together, we’ll sing until everyone’s free.” One of the rabbis blew a shofar.

We looked up and could not see any prisoners inside but our understanding is that they can see outside through tiny windows. During public demonstrations or gatherings outside the facility, people locked inside have frequently stood at windows, waved, and signaled to supporters or passersby on the street below. We hoped they saw us, hoped our presence provided comfort.

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We are also happy to report that thanks to collections made on behalf of Shomrei, we delivered $475 worth of ShopRite gift cards for family members of those imprisoned at Delaney Hall. To date, our Shomrei community has contributed about $1,500.

Shomrei’s Immigrant and Refugee Committee will continue to deliver gift cards, bags of groceries, and our presence at Delaney Hall.

To get involved contact:

Sarah Cortes, 

Audrey Levitin,