News & Views

Watch it Now: A Conversation With Author Taylor Shiroff

On June 26th, 2024, HIAS Pennsylvania held a conversation with author Taylor Shiroff, in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month.

Taylor Shiroff is the author of Next Year in America: A Family History of Eastern European Jews in the Old and New Worlds.

About the Book

Between 1880 and 1924, about two million Jews left the Russian Empire and its poverty and persecution in favor of immigrating to the United States. Few, if any, spoke English. Almost none were accustomed to electricity or running water inside homes. Most had never even seen a “modern” city.

Yet, despite lacking work experience to garner a living wage, they settled in. Within a generation, though Yiddish could still sometimes be heard, the typical Jew had become an assimilated American, striving for and even reaching the American Dream. This is their tale, as told through the lens of Taylor Shiroff’s ancestors.

Watch it Now: Ask Me Anything: Asylum Seekers

On January 15th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, HIAS Pennsylvania held a virtual Ask Me Anything program about asylum seekers. This program included a panel discussion, followed by a letter writing campaign. This program was inspired by Dr. King’s advocacy for systemic changes to create a more equitable America.

Panelists:

• Matthew P. Egler DiFerdinando, Esq. | Staff Attorney, HIAS Pennsylvania
• Nenehjoh Mansaray | Asylee Client of HIAS Pennsylvania
• Alisa R. Gutman, MD, PhD | Medical Director, Philadelphia Human Rights Clinic | Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

More information about advocating for asylum seekers

Find your members of Congress

Find your PA state legislators

H.R. 1325 – Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2023

 PA House Bill 769 – Driver’s Licenses for All

Watch It Now: Ask Me Anything: Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence

On October 17th, 2023, HIAS Pennsylvania held this Ask Me Anything program about immigrant survivors of domestic violence, in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This program discuses the unique challenges immigrant survivors of domestic violence face and resources available to help them. HIAS Pennsylvania’s Executive Director, Cathryn Miller-Wilson, moderates the conversation and is joined by Stephanie Costa and Isabel Abreu, Managing Attorneys at HIAS Pennsylvania.