IGAH is about action! We have a variety of ongoing initiatives and are proud that in our short history we can claim accomplishments in several critical areas.
As incidents of hate arise in our community, we determine how to respond in real time, through building coalitions, organizing our members, implementing creative fundraising, and directly supporting communities under threat.
Working with other interfaith groups, we are challenging the absence of civil and legal rights of immigrant detainees in private prisons as well as immigrants who are threatened with deportation.
Because of immigrants' fears and loss of jobs, many cannot obtain basic necessities such as food and medical care. IGAH maintains deep ties to immigrant communities in Cleveland, organizing alternative medical care and culturally appropriate food and supply drives in IGAH congregations.
To inform our action and rapid response work, we research to determine the best ways to act against the targeting of vulnerable populations in a systemic way. We also provide trainings and educational opportunities for our members and our community.
Following a forum on the rise of hate in our communities, IGAH is developing programs with community partners to help parents and educators understand how online youth radicalization works – and what they can do to counter it.
We are committed to helping our cross-congregational members connect and learn about one another's faith traditions through Coffee & Conversation gatherings, book discussion groups, and shared meals and cultural experiences.
Following the events in Springfield, Ohio during the 2024 Presidential election campaign, when candidates demonized Haitian immigrants, IGAH birthed the We Are Many, We Are One Coalition (WAMWAO) — a coalition of immigration service agencies and the faith community. WAMWAO strives to address the imminent problems faced by immigrants in greater Cleveland.
IGAH responded forcefully to the burning on social media of 100 Beachwood Library books on African American, Judaic, and LGBTQ+ themes by a neo-Nazi in Spring 2025. IGAH held three Book Fair sales and raised $10,000 and collected several hundred books to donate to our county's libraries for acquiring library resources. IGAH also organized seven book discussions in member congregations on Black history, Jewish history, and LGBTQ+ issues.
Our IGAH community is always responsive to threats against each other. IGAH organized testimonies at the Solon, Ohio City Council to address fallacious statements made against the Chagrin Valley Islamic Center, an IGAH member, and brought 200 people to pack the City Council meeting — saying by our numbers and our voices that we will protect and defend our neighbors at the mosque. After the slaughter of Jews at Bondi Beach, Australia in December 2025, Jews in IGAH received immediate messages of support from IGAH leadership, including one pastor's powerful prayerful lament. Read more in this op-ed in the local media.