How to Support the Afghanistan Humanitarian Crisis

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is causing a humanitarian crisis. Women are being forced into their homes. LGBTQ+ individuals are at risk of being stoned or worse. Human rights activists are living in fear. Those who worked with U.S. and coalition forces, translators, and the journalists whose very existence could expose the Taliban’s abuses, are desperate.

The situation is evolving, but here are steps you, your congregation, and community can take to support those in need.

Contact the White House:

Join the RAC in telling the Biden administration that visa processing times must be reduced, refugee resettlement and asylum processing capacities must be increased, and we must work with the international community to support emergency aid. Use the RAC’s action alert to email the White House.

Learn more, join a briefing, and partner with a refugee aid and resettlement agency:

HIAS:
- HIAS is holding a briefing on Monday, August 23 at 4pm ET on the situation in Afghanistan and ways to take action. Register here.
- You can also see other ways to work with HIAS to support Afghan refugees here.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
- LIRS is holding a briefing on Tuesday, August 24 at 4 p.m. ET, on “The Afghan Crisis: How to Help Our Neighbors.” The webinar will focus on the situation on the ground in Kabul, advocacy efforts, and tangible ways to help our Afghan neighbors. Registration is available here.
- LIRS also has a great resource on ways to help Afghan allies. While there are opportunities nationwide, there’s a particular need in Houston, Ft. Worth, Seattle/Tacoma, and the DC metropolitan area.

For Canadian congregations, information is available from the Government of Canada on opportunities to volunteer and donate.

We will update this blog as new opportunities arise.

International Issues

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Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

For more than six decades, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (the RAC) has worked to educate, inspire, and mobilize the Reform Jewish Movement to advocate for social justice. We work on more than 70 issues including gun violence prevention, immigration, reproductive rights, and criminal justice reform; and mobilize around federal, state, provincial, and local legislation. As a joint instrumentality of the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the RAC represents the values of the largest and most diverse Jewish Movement in North America to governments at all levels. As part of a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the RAC's work is nonpartisan.

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