On Wednesday evening, more than 50 synagogues and communal organizations and over 150 individuals representing New York’s Jewish community came together in support of refugees. Participants in the #JewsforRefugees Assembly called on the United States delegation to the historic UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants (September 19) and President Obama’s Leaders’ Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis (September 20) to take leadership to protect the safety and dignity of millions of refugees worldwide.

HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees, convened the event at the Manny Cantor Center on the Lower East Side, as part of its Welcome Campaign, leading and convening local Jewish communities across the country in supporting refugees.

The gathering included refugee speakers, policy experts, and community leaders who laid out their vision for what they hope to see happen at next week’s summits. The last time that international leaders united to produce a vision for refugees was in 1951, following the Holocaust.