American Jews have to grapple with two simultaneous truths.
four years ago was how to celebrate the most communal of Jewish holidays while in isolation. The challenge this year, a wartime Passover, will be how to celebrate it together.
At Thanksgiving, my family sidestepped our divisions by declaring the table an Israel-free zone. But that won’t work for Passover. The exodus of the Jews from Egypt and their arrival in IsraelBut that leaves the matter of what to do about this year. Even as we give thanks for the liberation of the Jews from Egypt, we must keep in mind that 1,200 were slaughtered on Oct. 7 and that others, who knows how many are still alive, are being held hostage in Gaza.
In Israel, Hamas is seeking to destroy us. And yes, destroy us as Jews, not simply Israel. JustMeanwhile, in the United States, there is the parallel fact of rising antisemitism. Jewish Americans of my generation once thought our parents were alarmist and out of touch with modernity when they emphasized this passage. But were they? The Anti-Defamation Leaguea 140 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in 2023, the highest level on record and more than the previous three years combined.
But to say that does not go far enough to recognize Israel’s responsibility, in particular for its failure to facilitate the delivery of food and other humanitarian aid to the civilian population. Ihow difficult it is for Israelis to support providing this help while the hostages suffer, especially because of the real risk of supplies being diverted to Hamas. And yet, this resistance feels fundamentally un-Jewish.
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