
Where we stand
As many from our community come from migrant backgrounds and are all too familiar with histories of persecution and fleeing, the rights of refugees to live in safety is something we are passionate about. Australia has an abhorrent track record of treatment of asylum seekers, for which it has been internationally condemned. We demand a fair, just and compassionate response to refugees seeking asylum.

Over the coming months the AJDS is developing our approach to this campaign. In this meantime this page should be considered a skeleton of what we hope it will be. Please join our supporter mailing list to keep up to date on progress.
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Jewish community calls on the ALP National Conference to adopt a just refugee policy.

“[They were returned to the trimotor plane]. The refugees then began to beat the sides of the plane and hammered at the windows, breaking one of them.”

latest updates in this campaign
The tradition of Palm Sunday rallies
By Yael Winikoff. Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, celebrates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. It has come to be traditionally viewed as a time to
Impressions from the anti-Trump rally, Melbourne February 3, 2017
By Larry Stillman. Hello all, I ran home like crazy to try to put in a report about the anti-Trump demo for those who are
One Nation’s cancellation and a letter by Robin Rothfield
Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts’ planned Caulfield visit in November, 2016, which was organised by a far Right Jewish group, was cancelled due to a
Why I spend my Friday nights in hell: visiting the Melbourne Immigration and Transit Accommodation centre (MITA)
By Sivan Barak. Every Friday night for the past 60 weeks I’ve driven out of the ‘ghetto’, over the river, just 32 km south, to the
‘A racist pig’: on embroiling children in the war on refugees
By Jordy Silverstein On March 25 2004 it was reported by the Hobart Mercury that “immigration minister Amanda Vanstone said yesterday she had received letters
Mum, did you steal any refugees? Sylvie Leber on the Baxter convergence, 2003
The Baxter Detention Centre in South Australia was used for the mandatory detention of asylum seekers between 2002-2007. In 2003 detainees protested and set fire
Migrant Justice in Settler-Colonial Australia (published in Arena)
By Sam Levnad This article was originally published in Arena Magazine. How can we work towards refugee and asylum-seeker rights while acknowledging Aboriginal sovereignty? The
Open statement calling for immediate action on offshore detention (initiated by The Refugee Council of Australia)
The Refugee Council of Australia has issued the following statement (3/2/17), of which the AJDS is signatory, along with countless other organisations: We, as a coalition
Innocent, imprisoned, unbroken: Behrouz Boochani
Last year Behrouz Boochani wrote in the Guardian about arriving in Manus Island: “Twenty-eight months ago, with a shattered body which was ravenously hungry and