This month, we mark the 75th anniversary of the signing of the UN Refugee Convention of 1951. The Convention was born from “humanity’s darkest chapter” —the persecution and displacement culminating in the Holocaust—and from the recognition that never again should those fleeing persecution be left without international protection, a reality that resonates deeply with the Jewish community worldwide.

From a Jewish perspective, this is a very significant milestone. Few commandments are repeated as consistently in the Torah as the obligation to care for and love the stranger. This is not presented as optional generosity but as covenantal responsibility.

Forced displacement is not an abstract issue—it is part of Jewish collective memory. From the Exodus to the Babylonian exile, to centuries of Diaspora, displacement is woven into Jewish identity. The Torah repeatedly reminds us that we know the experience of the stranger because we ourselves were strangers.

My own family history helps me reflect on that. I am decedent of Sephardic Jews who were forced to flee the Iberian Peninsula during the Inquisition and seek safety and refuge elsewhere. In their new homes, these Jews brought with........

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