#EnoughOccupation Passover Week of Action
Passover is a celebration of freedom. As young Jews, we know that our freedom is bound up in the freedom of all people. In the last year, we have seen countless attacks on Jews and other oppressed groups — the rights of people of color, queer people, women, Muslims, and Jews are under threat. And we have seen courageous resistance to these threats.
Just as Jews have a responsibility to fight for the rights of all marginalized people, the Jewish people must stand up against the moral disaster of the Occupation.
Every year on Passover, our community celebrates the story of our liberation alongside powerful stories of liberation from other groups facing oppression. But time and time again, we don’t hear a word about the Occupation.
For 50 years, the Occupation has denied freedom and dignity to Palestinians and Israelis. It has been over 50 years of home demolitions, endless checkpoints, and the imprisonment of children and teenagers like Ahed Tamimi. We know that as long as as young Israeli men and women are sent into battle every two years, to kill and be killed, we are not free. We know as long as a fearful American Jewish community ostracizes those who see the Palestinians as human beings, deserving of the same things we wish for ourselves, we cannot live with dignity.
Across the country, we are seeing young people rise up for the causes they believe in -- and we're seeing the full weight of their power. Our generation knows that we cannot spend another Passover celebrating liberation without confronting the Occupation.
This Passover, we have a 5th question for Hillel: Will you confront the Occupation this Passover?
Hillel knows that social justice is foundational to the Jewish tradition, but they are stuck in a place of fear -- fear of retribution from right-wing donors who want to uphold the Occupation, fear of division within the Jewish community, and fear for the safety of the Jewish community. But we know that oppressing another group of people will never make us safer.
This Passover, we are saying Dayenu. Enough.
We cannot wait for our institutions to make the choice for us. We are saying #EnoughOccupation to show our Hillels that there is another way: that the only way Jews can truly be free is to emerge from our fear and stand in solidarity with all those facing oppression. Our community must confront the Occupation alongside attacks on the freedoms of people of color, queer people, women, Muslims, and Jews -- knowing that until we are all free, none of us are free.
How will you take action this Passover?
Plan a liberation seder on your campus and show that young Jews are the moral leaders our community needs. A liberation seder can be anything from a massive action on your campus to a small anti-occupation seder in your home.
When you put your seder on the map, you’ll get all the materials you need to organize a liberation seder this Passover!