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. (more…)

This past Tuesday evening, twenty-five Shomrei members gathered in the social hall to learn about the national shift in immigration policy and the impact of those policies on the lives of people throughout the nation and in nearby communities. The ad hoc committee responsible for the program felt it was especially timely in light of the upcoming celebration of Passover and the holiday’s focus on freedom and our people’s story of persecution. (more…)