Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to overhaul Israel's judiciary and consolidate power sparked backlash. One author feels it's 'impossible to ignore' the crisis during Passover, another says the breaking of matzo marks the 'brokenness of Israel’s democracy.'
NEW YORK — Marc Slutsky has been leading Passover Seders for 40 years, taking on troubling issues that have included Soviet Jewry, racism in the United States, and war after war after war.
One big change will come at the end, he said, when “Next year in Jerusalem” is traditionally recited. “It feels impossible to ignore this difficult and deflating inflection point when it comes to Israel right now,” she said.“The bitter herb, which reminds us of the bitterness of slavery, will remind us also of the bitterness of this government’s bigotry — against non-Orthodox Jews, against LGBTQ Jews, against Arabs, against women in the army. It will remind us of the bitterness of dictatorship and intolerance, the abrogation of tenets we hold dear,” she said.
Shanken will put down a second Seder plate to go with the one holding traditional symbols of the Passover story. His second plate will include a block of ice that will be left to melt as a reminder to take climate action. But it's the Passover narrative itself and the founding of Israel 75 years ago that will frame conversation about current Israeli politics.
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At many Passover Seders, Israel unrest will be on the tableThis year, when the slavery-to-freedom story of Passover unfolds, mass demonstrations in Israel will be top of mind for many Jews around the globe. One Seder host plans to recite portions of Israel's Declaration of Independence. Others will connect the traditional symbols on the Seder plate to current divisions over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul. In North America, where the largest number of Jews outside of Israel live, Seder leaders consider the observance a perfect vehicle for discussion of Israel today. Netanyahu leads the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Tens of thousands of people in Israel have turned out in repeated protests against changes that would dilute the independence of judges.
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