The holiday of Passover celebrates the redemption of a people from slavery- a story of redemption not only for Jews, but for many people who yearn for justice and freedom. Yet, there are still injustices to be overturned. A full glass of wine symbolizes complete joy, and during the Seder, we spill wine from our cup to remember the suffering of others that accompanied our redemption. Traditionally, we then recite the ten plagues; this year, we list ten modern plagues (starting with settlement expansion)- those that we have yet to overcome.
Written before the elections, our Passover letter noted how wealthy extremists like Sheldon Adelson support programs based on their right-wing values. We ask in our letter how those of us who support peace can do the same. It's time to step up.
In case you missed it, I include our passover message below, as well as a link to Israeli security expert Yossi Alpher's warning against complacency. You do not need to be a billionaire to make a difference; you only need to act!
Mark Rosenblum
Founder, APN
For pro-peace American Jews and Israelis, billionaire Sheldon Adelson is the object of both fear and scorn.
He’s certainly an easy target. Crass and richer than Croesus, he seems to get a blank check for irresponsible remarks, such as calling the Palestinians “an invented people” and advocating a preemptive nuclear strike against Iran. He has made it his mission to thwart a peace deal that would bring a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
For his entire career – including three previous terms in office as Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently acted to subvert Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and undermine the two-state solution. He has done so through the promotion of settlements, the laundering of illegal outposts, and various other policies that have expanded and deepened the occupation across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Many hoped that Netanyahu’s verbal embrace of the two-state solution in his 2009 Bar-Ilan speech marked a turning point, and that his rhetorical nods to the Arab Peace Initiative signaled an openness to a broader agreement with the Arab world. Netanyahu’s actions and policies, however, have consistently belied his words, demonstrating unequivocally that he remains committed not to achieving peace, but to implementing an expansionist, “Greater Israel” agenda.
This week, Alpher discusses the positive aspects of the agreement announced in Lausanne last week from Israel’s standpoint; Netanyahu's response; what the agreement’s drawbacks are where Israel can make a case for a tougher approach; if the Iran agreement could affect Netanyahu’s coalition calculations; and is Netanyahu more likely now to be pressured by Obama and Kerry on the Palestinian issue.
In ongoing conflict zones, art has been used as a mechanism to bridge societal gaps and facilitate communication between separated communities and amongst a broken society. This collection of writings and art intends to show the reader that there are innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict, experiencing similar war traumas and desires for peace. It is easy to take one side and hold steady and unwavering, while it is much harder to put yourselves in the shoes of the “other”. This publication intends to put the reader in the shoes of every writer; of Palestinians, of Israelis, of all those who have experienced trauma as a result of this ongoing and long-standing conflict. How have you been affected by the conflict in Israel & the Palestinian territories? Would you like your voice to be heard? You are invited to submit your entry of a poem, short story, and/or visual art (150 -500 words) to be considered for publication in Art for Peace in the Middle East, a collection of short stories, poems, and visual art that side by side will show the human side of the conflict.
This is the first edition of Art for Peace and is being organized by Taylor Rockoff, a graduate student of International Development at American University in Washington DC. Her concentration is education and conflict resolution. As an American Jew, her studies of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has motivated her to create this project, which she hopes will allow the voices of Palestinians and Israelis to be heard and understood as neighbors rather than enemies. This will be published online and subsequently published in print, used in events focusing on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and peace-building in DC and abroad. It will be used as an educational mechanism for those involved and vested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from abroad, whether by religious affiliation or political motivation, to understand the conflict from a human rather than political perspective.
Traditionally, during the Seder, Jews spill some of the wine from our cups while reading the ten plagues, symbolizing reduced joy at the suffering of others. This week, in honor of the upcoming holiday, APN is offering suggestions of modern plagues to add to the traditional list: plagues that affect Israel today.
From the very first plague posted Monday, regarding the expansion of settlements, there has been an outcry from extremists who claim that APN is comparing other Jews or settlers to a plague. It is not surprising that these extremists would want to misdirect attention from the very real obstacle that settlement expansion poses to establishing peace for Israel, and to the very real suffering that settlement growth will cause to both Israelis and Palestinians who long for a peaceful future and an end to occupation. However, contrary to the right's assertions, APN does not refer to settlers as a "plague" and has never done so. Our problem is not with the settlers as a collective but with the Israeli government's policy of expanding settlements. We believe that it is severely threatening Israel's future as a democracy and a Jewish state.
Each year at Passover, Jews read this line in the haggadah, "In every generation a person is obligated to see themselves as if they had left Egypt." Why? Because each of us should understand that in our generation, just as in our ancestors' generation, the status quo is not inevitable. Societies founded on inequality, on domination of others, on ruling those who do not wish to be ruled cannot, in the arc of history, last. In every generation there is a wrong to be righted. Today, it is in our hands to right it.
This year, you can add flavor to your seder by sharing this thoughtful reflection by Rabbi Toba Spitzer. Rabbi Spitzer, who is the recipient of Americans for Peace Now’s 2015 Elizabeth Wyner Mark Peace Award, has graciously contributed our 14th haggadah insert. In it, she reminds us of the costs for freedom, and asks us to make an honest reckoning, an acknowledgment, and perhaps a commitment to make some kind of repair to those who are affected by the privileges we enjoy.
Since 2001, Americans for Peace Now has asked rabbis from the extended APN family to contribute reflections on the haggadah: that story which has for centuries been understood as the archetype of liberation. Many of us have made these reflections a permanent part of our seder - we hope you will, too. You can find them here.
May we all enjoy a sweet and liberating Passover,
Debra DeLee
President and CEO,
Americans for Peace Now
Submitted by Rabbi Toba Spitzer (2015)
Rabbi Spitzer is recipient of Americans for Peace Now’s 2015 Elizabeth Wyner Mark Peace Award
To be read just before the recitation of the ten plagues.
As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words. This is our aim: to make people think and to act for peace.
This week, we bring you a new cartoon, regarding the formation of Israel's government: “A
Bird-in-Hand”
The essence of Passover is a promise for a better future through the transformation of an entire people from slavery to freedom. This idea has sustained us, the Jewish people, for centuries.
In the wake of Israel’s recent elections we must find a way to cope with the policies of Israel’s re-elected prime minister which offer us little promise and hope.
This week, Alpher discusses how significant is it that Saudi Arabia has put together a ten-nation Sunni coalition to fight Iran-backed Zaidi-Shiite forces in Yemen; how does one explain Saudi and Egyptian alarm, given that Yemen is a poor, dysfunctional backwater parts of which are virtually unconquerable due to geography; what is unusual about the participation of Turkey, Qatar and Sudan in the Saudi-led coalition; if a joint Arab army is a serious proposition; what the Saudi-led war effort has accomplished thus far and what strategic challenges remain; if a Saudi-Iranian proxy war could spread elsewhere in the Middle East; if there is really solid evidence of Iranian participation on the side of the Houthis in Yemen; the Israeli angle to the Yemen struggle; and if there is a Palestinian angle.