Rabbis at Whitehall protest demand government action
SENIOR RABBIS including Danny Rich, Laura Janner-Klausner and Jonathan Wittenberg were among faith leaders at a rally for the Calais refugees.
The gathering, outside the Home Office, was organised by Citizens UK. It marked the anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose image made global headlines after he drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.
Along with Christian clergy and imams, the rabbis urged the government to speed up the arrival of refugee children who have the right to come to the UK because of family links — and also the other children eligible under the terms of the amendment put forward by Labour peer Lord Dubs.
Rabbi Rich and fellow Liberal rabbi Janet Darley were among a delegation which handed in a letter for Home Secretary Amber Rudd listing all the children’s names.
“Not a single child has yet entered the UK under the Dubs Amendment criteria,” Rabbi Rich said.
“Judaism teaches that saving a human life is like saving the entire world. The government must now immediately act accordingly.”
Lord Dubs — who came to Britain as a child on the Kindertransport to escape Nazi persecution — said he was “deeply saddened that despite repeated calls from me and others, the government still seems to be dragging its feet on the commitments it made when the amendment in my name was accepted. Now the new government has had some weeks to settle in after the EU referendum vote, there really is no excuse for any further delay. Theresa May and Amber Rudd should be taking immediate action.”