B’nai Torah Welcomes Afghan Speakers at HIAS Shabbat Service

In full transparency, the following press release was submitted to SOURCE media.

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SUDBURY – Congregation B’nai Torah of Sudbury welcomes the community to attend an online HIAS Refugee Shabbat service on Friday, March 11.

“Drawing on our Jewish values and history, HIAS provides vital services to refugees and asylum seekers around the world and advocates for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.”

We are honored to have two Afghan speakers join us at this special service— Mariam Jalalzada and Mustafa Basij-Rasikh at the 7 p.m. event. 

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Mariam Jalalzada works as a Senior Analyst for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a U.S. government oversight agency. She also helps with the resettlement efforts of Operation Allies Welcome led by the Department of Homeland Security. Jalalzada left Kabul, her hometown, during the Afghan Civil War of the 1990s and spent a decade in Pakistan as a refugee. She moved to the U.S. in 2005 and received her B.A. from Simmons University. After completing her master’s degree at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, Jalalzada moved to Kabul in 2012. During her time in Afghanistan, she worked for various non-profit organizations, conducted in-depth research on a wide range of topics, traveled extensively across the country, and observed how communities struggled to sustain their livelihoods and repair their relationships, all shattered by war.

Mustafa Basij-Rasikh has over ten years of multi-disciplinary work experience in Afghanistan. Basij-Rasikh began his career as a field researcher and business management consultant with IBM focusing on the intersection of political stability and the private sector. In 2014, Basij-Rasikh joined Qara Group, a firm based in Kabul, as its Managing Director. In this capacity, he led dozens of large-scale research studies—primarily on health and education—across the country. Basij-Rasikh is currently working as a Professional Specialist at the Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW) at Princeton University.

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