Talk:HIAS

OVERVIEW
This is a good propaganda article. Good work, Hasbara. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.94.8.211 (talk) 00:16, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

VANDAL

 * {{vandal|188.230.199.248)} changed line 26 from "non-profit" to "terrorist" Kacser (talk) 19:26, 16 March 2019 (UTC) Kacser (talk) 19:32, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

[Untitled]

 * As written, this article doesn't seem to comply with Wikipedia policies or guides. If kept, it needs: A) to be wikified, B) to be categorized, and C) to be revised to be NPOV.  CPAScott 15:56, 8 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I've made some improvements although the article should still be improved further. --Metropolitan90 06:27, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Looks like HIAS themselves started it--I still see text which counts as copyvio, though, unless they explicitly give permission. I'll leave it in for now.. --Lukobe 06:04, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

I have tried to begin editing some of this page to make it Wikified and to add references and make it less of an ad. NPOV and all. It should'nt be deleted, the organization is an important one and has a fascinating history, unfortunatly little of that history is found in this entry and that must be remedied.Seth J. Frantzman 08:33, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

This article still is a piece of propoganda for the organization, not encyclopedic. Seth J. Frantzman (talk) 15:38, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

article about emigration from Iran treating HIAS critically in Dutch Newspaper NRC, 29 maart 2008 by Thomas Erdbrink Andries (talk) 12:49, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Almost all the information comes from two entries by one person on Aug. 20 1980. It looks like it is copied straight out of fundraising letters. I don't know, but there might even be copyright concerns. 75.2.219.57 (talk) 19:37, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
One or more portions of this article duplicated other source(s). Infringing material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a license compatible with GFDL. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.) For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use external websites as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 12:08, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Removal of sourced contents
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HIAS&diff=232538180&oldid=227381092 sorry, I disagree, the website of the HIAS at least suggests that they facilitate emigration to escape persecution, so the statement of the Dutch newspaper that the motivation of some of the people who are helped by HIAS is economical is relevant.

from http://www.hias.org/immigration-help (retrieved 2009-01-03)


 * "Immigration Help


 * HIAS’ policy on immigration is based on the inherent belief in human rights. This belief has led HIAS to strive to end the persecution of individuals and to offer refuge, and the legal protection of the United States, to many of its victims.  After more than 125 years of operation, HIAS continues rescuing, resettling and reuniting oppressed people from all over the world."

Andries (talk) 20:43, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

Intend to remove Template:Advert
This intent to remove Template:Advert is dated 2013, with explanation. Since that time, more editing has occurred. This includes my own answers in Oct 2018.to some items below. Therefore, I am removing this Template.Kacser (talk) 01:48, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

Unless someone objects in the next week or so, I intend to remove Template:Advert. It was placed on the article 6 years ago; I think at least most of the offending text has been dealt with in the interval. - Jmabel &#124; Talk 07:27, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
 * No one seems to be weighing in, so I'll remove the template. - Jmabel &#124; Talk 01:50, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

Status of article / my recent work
I believe I've cleaned up a mess in the early history which apparently resulted from confusion with another organization with a similar name (Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society). This confusion can also be found in a lot of casual writing on the topic, and I'm guessing someone picked up the error from some such source without citing it. My new version of that part of the history should be quite adequately cited and I think should put that confusion to rest. I believe the rest of the article is essentially accurate, and I'm personally not as interested in tracking down citations for what strikes me as accurate information as I was in cleaning up an inaccurate mess. I may be back in here some time, but for now I leave this to someone else to track down better citations for the rest. - Jmabel &#124; Talk 03:41, 20 December 2013 (UTC)

Removing the Template:Advert
In an effort to remove the template:advert disclaimer, what should be done to fix this? Add a criticism section? Add more sources? I'm not sure how much reading like an advertisement is even applicable to nonprofits. Houdinipeter (talk) 20:44, 8 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Good question. See WP:NPOV and WP:RS. Those are Wikipedia policies that we must follow. Instead of describing the organization from its own promotional materials, we must describe it from independent third party sources. I think the easiest way to do that is with a Google search for "HIAS" or "Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society". You can find the reliable sources by searching in specific reliable sources with a Google search like "source:nytimes.com HIAS" or "source:forward.com HIAS" etc. That way, instead of the dull and meaningless platitudes of an annual report, you will get some more objective, and significant, stories like this:
 * https://forward.com/news/breaking-news/401246/these-jewish-groups-are-fighting-behind-the-scenes-and-maybe-even/
 * These Jewish Groups Are Fighting Behind The Scenes — And Maybe Even Physically
 * Ron Kampeas
 * May 16, 2018
 * Three Jewish organizations — the National Council of Jewish Women, the Anti-Defamation League and HIAS — accused the Zionist Organization of America of inappropriately criticizing them; in turn, the ZOA filed complaints against member groups that have yet to be scheduled for hearings....
 * NCJW’s complaint cited a ZOA press release last November “condemning” it, HIAS and J Street among other groups for joining a letter in May defending Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour against “vicious public threats and intimidation.”...
 * HIAS complained about a ZOA letter to the Forward in January of 2017 charging that HIAS invoked “morality” in defending refugees because it receives “millions of dollars” of government grants to resettle refugees — essentially saying it defended refugees out of economic self-interest.
 * Some people (including HIAS) would say that defending Linda Sarsour reflects favorably on HIAS rather than negatively. I think it belongs in the entry because it shows that HIAS is willing to take controversial positions that it believes in.
 * I'm afraid that this Wikipedia entry is so full of regurgitated PR material, which (in violation of WP:RS) isn't sourced, that most of the article would have to be deleted and replaced with material from WP:RS in order to meet WP policies and guidelines. But I'd rather replace bad sections with good sections over time rather than do a wholesale deletion. --Nbauman (talk) 03:35, 28 October 2018 (UTC)

When did HIAS start assisting more then just Jewish refuges as the section does not mention non-Jewish refugees?
I have briefly but clearly answered this question in the initial main paragraph, and in the "now".Kacser (talk) 00:35, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

The lead of the article states that HIAS assists refugees with the implication that they assist non-Jewish refugees but the section seems to only focus on their assistance to Jewish refugees. Did they always assist non-Jewish refugees or is that only a more recent thing? If it's indeed only a recent then we need to include in the  section exactly when they broadband their focus. If it's always been that way then we need to rewrite the different subsections to include that fact. Also, is their focus curreently weighted towards helping Jewish refugees because the Europe and Middle east sections seem to imply that. (Statement like "HIAS helps Jews and others..." or "Jewish and other religious minorities..." as found in the section about Europe and the Middle East imply their focus currently is still more on Jewish refugees.). If in the Middle East they provide equal help to all religious minorities then we can state something like "HIAS helps a variate of religious minorities, such as Jews, Christians, Baha'i Faith, and Zoroastrians..." In the "Europe" section, we can be more specific as to what the 43 countries are whose refugees they provide help for are. Also, can I assume that "others" refers to both both religious and ethnic minorities? If so then let's specify that. --Notcharliechaplin (talk) 22:45, 28 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Search Google https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/us/hias--robert-bowers.html --Nbauman (talk) 23:22, 28 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Here's a Rachel Maddow interview with the head of HIAS, who discusses HIAS' support for non-Jewish immigrants. THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW OCT 29, 2018. The transcript, which will be available in a day or two, might be a better source. --Nbauman (talk) 05:16, 30 October 2018 (UTC)

HIAS' first recorded help to non-Jews was sometime in 1905 (about a year after its founding) when a group of Russian peasants (non-Jews) landed at Ellis Island. They had no relatives in the United States and could not provide evidence of the $25 needed to prove that they would not likely become public charges. HIAS intervened, guaranteeing the funds for these non-Jews. When these non-Jews wrote home that no one representing Russia helped them at Ellis Island but that HIAS, a Jewish organization, did, the Tsarist Russian Government offered an annual subsidy of 6,000 roubles to HIAS. After deliberation, the Board of Directors of HIAS rejected the offer on the grounds that it did not want to be tied to any government, the more so since many of the Jews left Russia illegally. HIAS feared that the Russian government might try to extract information from it with respect to such emigrants. It was also true that Jewish public opinion worldwide would have been opposed to co-operating in any way with the Tsarist government. See Wischnitzer, Mark, Visas to Freedom: The History of HIAS, Cleveland:  World Publishing Company, 1956, 286 pp., including Appendix Notes, pp. 271-275, and index, pp. 276-286, at pp. 45-46. There are other instances recorded, including help for the daughter (and her children) of an infamous anti-Semitic Russian newspaper editor. She expressed her shame for the anti-Semitism. The book is replete with other instances of helping non-Jews, which continues to this day. Probably more non-Jews are helped today than Jews.

Mr. Posen (talk) 18:04, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

Pittsburgh shooting
As expected, after the Pittsburgh shooting, the page views of this article have gone up from 100 a day or less, to 40,000 yesterday. https://tools.wmflabs.org/pageviews/?project=en.wikipedia.org&platform=all-access&agent=user&range=latest-20&pages=HIAS It would be nice if we had a better article to offer all those readers. --Nbauman (talk) 23:32, 28 October 2018 (UTC)

Syrian refugees
Worth nothing the criticism coming from Zionist organizations:

"Bowers isn’t the only person apparently obsessed with HIAS. The extreme right has been vilifying the organization for some time. The anti-Semitic right has accused HIAS of bringing immigrants to the United States in a scheme that is somehow designed to benefit Jews. On the Jewish far right, the Zionist Organization of America has attacked HIAS and other Jewish organizations for lobbying to admit Syrian refugees to the U.S. and has accused HIAS of doing so for profit." (Source) Al-Andalusi (talk) 16:05, 17 December 2018 (UTC)

removal of first reference to Google in introductory paragraph
the first section of any article is meant to be a very general overview. Brin and Google are now very nicely presented in the "Soviet Jewry" section

Kacser (talk) 20:29, 9 March 2019 (UTC)

VANDAL

 * {{vandal|188.230.199.248)} changed line 26 from "non-profit" to "terrorist" Kacser (talk) 19:26, 16 March 2019 (UTC) Kacser (talk) 19:32, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

I HAVE UNDONE