PITTSBURGH (RNS) — The Jewish community here is haunted by the specter of the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting, when a gunman killed 11 worshipers in deranged retribution against HIAS, a Jewish refugee aid agency, for bringing “invaders that kill our people.”
But congregations have never stopped helping to resettle refugees, and Jewish leaders vow their work will continue despite President Donald Trump’s order ending federal funding for it. “This work doesn’t change just because any president was elected,” said Rabbi Daniel Fellman, senior rabbi at Temple Sinai, a Reform congregation just a mile from the Tree of Life synagogue. “So we’re going to do everything we can to help people.”
But Trump’s order has left Temple Sinai and its partners scrambling to determine exactly how their refugee assistance program will be impacted. The temple’s volunteers will still look for deals on used furniture listed on local Facebook groups, and the order won’t keep the volunteers from offering newcomers help in deciphering the postal system, operating washing machines or navigating public transit. Federal funding, however, is indispensable to meet basic needs such as rent.
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HIAS, formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, was closing for Shabbat on Friday (Jan. 24) when a notice from the State Department arrived by email, instructing the agency to halt all services funded by the U.S., including to refugees who already arrived. An earlier executive order had already barred new arrivals of refugees for 90 days.
HIAS is one of 10 national resettlement agencies that are contracted with the State Department to process refugees and place them in communities across the country. These agencies, seven of which are faith-based, subcontract with local affiliates, allocating federal dollars to refugee resettlement. HIAS President Mark Hetfield said federal funding made up 60% of HIAS’ budget for this year.
In Pittsburgh, one local affiliate, Jewish Family and Community Services, has settled hundreds of refugees, coordinating airport pickups, finding housing, purchasing groceries and clothes and helping refugees open bank accounts, enroll in school and find jobs. JFCS Director of Refugee and Immigrant Services Ivonne Smith-Tapia said the government provided between $1,250 and $1,650 for each refugee, depending on need. The State Department also funded the staff positions at JFCS and training for the refugee clients.
Drew Barkley, center, meets with two resettled refugees at Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh, Jan. 28, 2025. (RNS photo/Kathryn Post)
JFCS has long supplemented federal money with private fundraising. In 2021, the group approached Temple Sinai and Pittsburgh’s Shadyside Presbyterian Church about becoming co-sponsors. Together, the two congregations formed a refugee resettlement committee that has since settled five families in the city, according to Drew Barkley, a Temple Sinai executive director and a member of the committee.
