We are celebrating HIAS and JCORE bringing together their operations, to enhance the UK Jewish response to issues of asylum, refugees, and racial equality.

We will also celebrate the tremendous work of Dr Edie Friedman, JCORE’s Founder and Executive Director, as well as hearing from Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of HIAS, Adam Rose, Chairperson of JCORE, and Rabbi David Mason, incoming Executive Director of HIAS+JCORE.

You will have the opportunity to hear Yalda Hakim, Chief Presenter on BBC News, speak about her work supporting the education and professional advancement of exceptionally talented young women in Afghanistan.

Speakers

Yalda Hakim

Yalda Hakim is an award-winning foreign correspondent and documentary filmmaker, recently promoted to the role of Chief Presenter on BBC News. She was born in Afghanistan and fled with her family as a result of the Soviet invasion, emigrating to Australia.

She has reported extensively from some of the world’s most dangerous and difficult places, including Iraq and Syria to cover the rise and fall of the so-called Islamic State, and in the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan, documenting the brutal civil war there. She has covered the US presidential elections in 2008, 2012 and 2020, reported from Turkey following the failed coup attempt, covered the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal, kidnappings by drug cartel’s in Mexico and jihadism in Sweden.

In 2018, Yalda launched The Yalda Hakim Foundation, which supports the education and professional advancement of exceptionally talented young women in Afghanistan — in particular those from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds — through scholarships, internships, and mentoring.

Dr Edie Friedman

Dr Edie Friedman was born in Chicago. A student in the 1960s, she was heavily influenced by the civil rights and peace movements. She came to England to study in Leeds and subsequently worked for Oxfam and the Community Relations Council in Ealing, West London.

She founded the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) in 1976 with the aim of providing a Jewish voice on race and asylum in the UK, and has led the organisation since. Over the 45 years, JCORE has campaigned together with the UK's Black and Asian communities, taken race-equality education into Jewish schools, and supported refugees and asylum seekers through innovative projects.

In 2008 she co-authored Reluctant Refuge – The Story of Asylum in Britain. She has also authored and co-authored a series of race equality education resources covering the primary school to adult age ranges.

Mark Hetfield

Mark Hetfield first joined HIAS in 1989 as a caseworker in Rome, Italy. He has worked for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a large law firm as an immigration attorney, and has held multiple roles at HIAS over the years. Since being named HIAS’ President and CEO in 2013, Mark has led the transformation of HIAS from helping refugees because they were Jewish to helping refugees because we are Jewish.

Mark is proud of HIAS’ role in assisting and resettling refugees of all faiths and ethnicities and as a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State. He is a frequent commentator and writer on refugee issues on television, radio, newspapers, and other media outlets. Mark holds both a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.

Adam Rose

Adam is a solicitor and partner at Mishcon de Reya. He has been a trustee of JCORE since 2014.

Born in Southend, he spent his primary school years in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and after studying law and accounting at Manchester University, spent a sabbatical year as National Secretary of the Union of Jewish Students. He is also a trustee of the Jewish Youth Fund, the Union of Jewish Students and Masorti Judaism.

Rabbi David Mason

Rabbi David Mason, former Rabbi of Muswell Hill Synagogue, London, is the first Executive Director of HIAS+JCORE. He was born in Edinburgh and previously served at Kingston Synagogue in South West London. He studied at George Watsons College and received a BSc and MSc in Econometrics from the London School of Economics and attended yeshivot in Israel for 7 years before joining the Rabbinate. Mason also has a Masters in Conflict Resolution in Divided Society from Kings College London.

A celebration to mark the launch of HIAS+JCORE in the UK