JFS Delaware, RISE receives 2022 Wallenberg Tribute Award

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (Nov. 28, 2022) – The Muhlenberg College Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding presented Jewish Family Services of Delaware (JFS) and the Refugee Integration Support Effort (RISE) with the 2022 Wallenberg Tribute Award on November 13.

For 38 years the Muhlenberg College Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding (formerly the Institute of Jewish-Christian Understanding) has honored the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat in Hungary who saved 100,000 Jews from deportation to death camps during World War II, with the Wallenberg Tribute.

The 2022 Wallenberg Tribute Award was presented to JFS’ RISE program in honor of the courageous moral action on behalf of others and service to refugees and immigrant communities.

JFS has a long history of advocating for and assisting newcomers to America as they build new lives and raise their families in Delaware. In the 1980’s JFS was instrumental in resettling hundreds of families in Delaware from the former Soviet Union and, since 1997, have been providing émigré services for refugees who have already arrived in the state. In 2016, we relaunched our active resettlement efforts through the Refugee Integration Support Effort (RISE). In 2021, JFS welcomed 68 refugees to Delaware.

The lecture guest for this year’s Wallenberg Tribute was Rangina Hamidi, an Afghan American writer, educator, social activist and politician known for her tireless efforts to advocate for the rights of women, girls and education in Afghanistan. Hamidi presented her lecture, “Schools and Madrassas: The Battle for Education in Afghanistan”, prior to the award presentation.

Peter Hurd, President of the Board for JFS, accepted the Wallenberg Tribute Award. Several JFS staff members were also on hand for the event.