By Heidi Gantwerk
SAN DIEGO– This year, my family had the honor of being guests at two beautiful and deeply meaningful seders. Both had delicious brisket, chicken, soup, charoset, and more varieties of dessert than people. Both had music, at times pretty raucous (no glassware was broken!). One had more young children, with all of the tumult and giggling and distraction I remember from my days at my grandparents’ and my parents’ seder table. The other skewed a little older, and perhaps just slightly calmer. I loved them both.
Of course, both seders felt different this year. Each of our hosts set an empty place with a picture of one of the hostages held in Gaza, as most of our seder tables had this year. Who could have imagined last year at Pesach that we would be marking more than 200 days in Hamas captivity for these men women and children and praying for their safe return? At both homes, we engaged in thoughtful discussion and reflection about the war in Gaza, about the increase in antisemitism, the challenges Jews throughout the diaspora are facing, and the difficulty and the importance of holding pain for all who are suffering at this moment.
The story of the oppression of the Jews in Egypt, the exodus and of the self-determination of the Jewish people has extraordinary resonance this year. When set against the onslaught of news coming out of universities like Columbia, Yale, Berkely, Emerson and so many more campuses growing increasingly divided and tense for Jewish students, it felt especially important to celebrate, to retell the story and discover new relevance, to sing familiar songs and to find joy and meaning in our traditions. For the college students and young adults who joined us, it was a chance to breathe, and to simply be Jewish and enjoy it for a little while. In fact, the same was true for everyone at the table.
Tomorrow will bring more difficult news, no doubt, as our students head back to campus and try to navigate final exams and commencements amidst a backdrop of increasingly contentious and increasingly antisemitic anti-Israel protests. While San Diego has not yet had encampments like we’ve seen at universities around the country, our Federation continues to support our college students through strong partnerships with Hillel of San Diego and with campus law enforcement. Our Community Security Director and the team from the Secure Community Network are monitoring the situation closely while taking necessary security measures to enhance the safety of the community. We stand ready to work with Hillel leadership and their students both to ensure student safety and well-being, and to create positive experiences that enrich their lives.
Many people have asked us what they can do.
If you are interested in showing up to support Jewish college students at UCSD during the upcoming “Peace in Israel” week, our partner Hillel of San Diego asks that you participate in their webinar, “So You Want to Support Students,” on Wednesday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. Register here.
Nationally, the Federation system released this statement about the situation on campuses and continues to seek passage of the Antisemitism Awareness Act. The bill would set into law the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism for all the programs and regulatory functions of the US Department of Education. This action would provide our universities and primary and secondary schools with clear standards that they can use to enforce appropriate campus behavior and protect the civil rights of Jewish students. We are hopeful that there will be progress on this soon and encourage you to contact your local Congressional representatives to voice your support for this vital legislation.
If you are interested in learning more about the campus situation nationally and some ways to support college students, ADL will also be holding a webinar on May 1 at 10 a.m. Register here.
We know from our recent Community Study that more than 50,000 Jews in San Diego likely attended a seder this year, and that many others marked Passover in other ways that are meaningful to them.
I hope that you, like me, found meaning and respite in our Passover holiday, and that it gives you a renewed sense of connection and strength, as it does for all of us at Federation.
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Heidi Gantwerk is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego