Progressive groups launch Seder Night campaign
Wednesday, 01 April 2009
The results of the recent Israeli elections confirmed that there has been a distinct shift to the right amongst the Israeli electorate. Increased support has been given to policies that pose fundamental questions about the issue of citizenship in Israel. In response to this RSY-Netzer and LJY-Netzer, the Zionist Youth Movements for Reform and Liberal Judaism, together with Pro-Zion, the Progressive Zionist Organisation in the UK, will be sending out a Haggadah insert to Jewish households across the UK.
The insert aims to stimulate discussion about the rights of minority groups in Israel by drawing on core Jewish values taken from the Haggadah.
The insert includes several commentaries on the Haggadah, together with a series of questions that aim to show the continual relevance of the Haggadah to our lives today and to the climate within Israeli politics. The work of those organisations that seek to encourage peaceful coexistence and respect between different groups within Israeli society will be given as examples of the positive work that is possible.
Daniel Lichman, Mazkir of RSY-Netzer explains “The proposal of a policy of compulsory loyalty tests in the election campaign challenged the right to freedom of conscience for all Israel’s citizens. Pesach, with its emphasis on freedom from oppression, is the ideal time in the Jewish calendar for us to restate our commitment to challenging prejudice.”
Charlie Gluckman, co-Chair of Pro-Zion added: “Our ongoing aim is to contribute to the building of a State of Israel that, as the Declaration of Independence states, is ‘based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel’. This Seder Night resource will encourage Jews across the UK to think about some of these fundamental issues and at the same time learn about groups in Israeli society who are actively working towards achieving this aim”.
Noa Marom, Shlicha for LJY-Netzer said “We are committed to the values of progressive Judaism and our love of the state of Israel. As a movement we believe that we have an obligation to Tikkun Olam inside and outside Israel. We have a responsibility to make sure that the values we hold close to our heart, such as freedom and democracy, are upheld in the Jewish state. Pesach is the most opportune time to restate these feelings and share them with our community.”
The resource can be downloaded here:
Seder Resource Easy to Print A4 Format
Ideas on how to use this resource:
One way is to read some of the passages out at your seder. The first page is relevant at the beginning, and the centre pages at the point in the seder when you get to the paragraph beginning "In every generation...". Perhaps you could hand out copies of the insert and people can read them and choose which passages they want to share. Or perhaps your guests can study them with the person next to them. The questions can be used to prompt discussion of important issues at your seder table.
Pesach is not just about something that happened a long time ago. It is about what we are doing now. What will we speak out for and against, what actions we can take to further the Jewish values of the seder? We do not know what you are going to decide but we hope that this can give you some ideas.
For further details, please contact:
Charlie Gluckman -
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Daniel Lichman –
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Benjy Aarons-Richardson –
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