Tonight, Jews around the world will gather at their Seder tables and begin the story of Pesach. The reason the story of Pesach has always been my favorite period in the Jewish calendar is because it's a story that lasts a lifetime.
The Pesach story serves as our annual self-assessment; how do we personally reflect on our emancipation from Egypt, where we were once slaves; how do we carry ourselves as Jews in a society in which we remain the minority; do we read and learn and question our purpose year on year, or do we let our egos overtake our duty to our personhood and reject the Jewish way of life; how do we recognize the place of the global Jewish experience now in the stages of the Israelites' story; who is the generational enemy we contend with – the newest Pharaoh – and how are we going to liberate ourselves from the hands of their oppression; and how do we ensure that we can still eat and indulge and sing as though we're far above our regular social station, because Jewish survival is rooted in always remembering joy even when life's tribulations dare to stand in the way.
Before we sit down with our families tonight, and let the children wonder and make inquiries, and let the adults argue and moan and gorge on the fruits of their kitchen labor, it's important to acknowledge the current context for this yearly tradition.
Last week I posted a petition to pressure another US university into resisting a motion to vote for BDS on campus. As many of you know, the Boycott Divestment and Sanction movement is weaponized on campus to taunt, threaten and abuse Jewish students, especially Zionist Jewish students. It is a campaign that mirrors the nascence and promotion of waves of antisemitism throughout history in the sense that it's rooted in a perceived elite intelligentsia and deploys language and emblems to dehumanize Jews under the guise of progressivism and social justice. It starts with words and it leads to physical violence. Boycotting Jewish business has been an early stage of the creeping beast that is Jew hatred throughout history. Sure, BDS has re-spun this old yarn and couched the economic punishment as boycotting Israel, not Jews. But isn't Israel the Jewish nation? Isn't Israel the only Jewish country in the world?
BDS has festered throughout academic institutions and in media and pop culture now for decades, strengthening its popularity and – in turn – its lies. As its prevalence constantly threatens – in particular – US campuses, it's easy to become demoralized by never-ending and often failed attempts to boot BDS from our institutions. In the past week Princeton has been the latest university that has hosted a motion on an anti-Israel BDS referendum in its Undergraduate Student Government. Miraculously, however, this time the motion was struck down with 56% of students choosing not to support the referendum. Princeton has had to repeatedly fight attempts by its student government to sanction Israel-affiliated business on campus, including in 2015, in which the referendum intended to completely divest Princeton from “all multinational corporations that contribute to or profit from [Israel’s] illegal military occupation of the Palestinian territories”. Although that referendum also didn't pass, it did generate an all-time high of antisemitic attacks on campus.
For 10 years prior to 2015, Princeton had recorded zero antisemitic incidents. But during that 2015 referendum as much as 12 individual antisemitic attacks were reported. Why? Because BDS encourages attacks on Jews. BDS does not embody a peace-promoting agenda. It creates harm for both Israelis and Palestinians (who are also punished by its boycott), and is not a solution to conflict. All BDS is good at is increasing animosity towards Jews throughout the Diaspora. It is but a catalyst for spreading xenophobic bigotry about Israel and creates vulnerability for anyone on campus who stands tall with the Jewish nation. It's a demonization that directly marginalizes and diminishes us.
Tonight when you contemplate what it took the people of Israel to make it out of their enslaved state, and as you consider how “in every generation” there is another who rises against us, chew over the new breed of antisemites who will do anything to strip us – the Jews – of our rights and freedoms. BDS do this however duplicitous or fashionably. BDS wants to re-colonize the Jewish people and dismantle our homeland. Tonight take some comfort from the wins that we can achieve, even against such a Goliath as this old yet replenished foe.
Chag Pesach sameach.
Chag Pesach Sameach! Your are truly an inspiration and have demonstrated such courage in the face of adversity. I admire how you always wear the Magen David around your neck proudly and publicly.
Chag Pesach Sameach - in every generation there are lions and lionesses who rise up to meet the challenge of leading the JEWISH resistance. Thank you for heeding the call to educateour people and heighten awareness of the diaspora.