Jews separated from families during the Holocaust condemn border policy

Jews separated from families during the Holocaust condemn border policy

A group representing children hidden during the Holocaust slammed the U.S. border policy of separating families seeking asylum.

“Separation of the family for us is probably the worst thing that ever happened to us,” said Rachelle Goldstein, who was separated from her parents in Belgium when she wasn’t even 3 years old.

Goldstein, the co-director of the Hidden Child Foundation, and her husband, Jack, who also was separated from his parents as a child, appear in a video the Anti-Defamation League released on Tuesday.

“When you take a child away from the parents, from the home, from everything that they know, they are never the same,” Goldstein said in the video, adding that many children separated from their parents during the Holocaust still had not overcome the trauma.

“Most hidden children are now in their late 70s, 80s, and they still think about it, and it still hurts, it still aches,” she said.

The new policy dictates that every migrant who crosses the United States border illegally will be prosecuted and detained. Since children cannot be prosecuted with adults, they are reclassified as unaccompanied minors and taken away.

A broad spectrum of Jewish groups have spoken out against the policy, along with many other religious organizations.

“It’s wrong, it’s wrong,” Goldstein said. “How can this happen in the 21st century?”

JTA Wire Service

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