Refugee Shabbat: “On the Ground at Delaney Hall”

Join us for a special morning and early afternoon led by the Oheb Shalom Social Justice Initiative, a discussion of ICE at Delaney Hall in Newark, where almost 1,000 local people are being detained. Immigrant advocates have argued that conditions there are inhumane and do not comply with detention standards as set by the American Correctional Association, and that proper permits for operation have never been obtained. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 90% of those detained there have no criminal record. Visiting conditions are dreadful, especially in winter, when families of those detained have had to wait in the cold – with no seating or toilets – for permission to enter.

Delaney Hall is an example of the disturbing conduct that led United Synagogue, the Rabbinical Assembly, and the Cantorial Assembly to sign onto the Jewish Cross-Denominational Statement Against Violent Immigration Enforcement. It was also where three New Jersey congressional representatives and Newark’s mayor were denied entry in May to observe conditions. One of them, Rep. LaMonica McIver, still faces charges of “assault” on federal officers stemming from that visit.

We’ll begin with a service led by Cantor Kissner, featuring a D’var Torah from Rabbi Anne Laurent. The service will be followed by a Kiddush lunch and program led by Kathy O’Leary, joined by Rabbi Laurent, about what’s happening on the ground at Delaney Hall – to detainees, their families, and those who advocate on their behalf.