Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan hosts a mock Passover Seder at the United Nations with the participation of 70 ambassadors from around the world, March 29, 2023. Credit: Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN.
(JNS) Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan on Tuesday hosted a mock Passover seder in the United Nations with the participation of seventy ambassadors from around the world.
Traditional holiday foods were served, excerpts from the Haggadah were read, and the ambassadors learned about the traditions and customs associated with the Jewish festival of freedom.
The event was initiated by Erdan and held in collaboration with Aish Global, with the aim of strengthening the familiarity of Jewish traditions and values among the ambassadors.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya were among the participants.
“At the seder we are commanded to retell the Exodus as if we ourselves were slaves in Egypt and we, ourselves, were brought out by the hand of God. This is how the Exodus becomes a collective memory for every Jew around the globe. But even more than that, the Exodus—going from slavery to freedom—has become the universal theme of liberation for all people, Jews and non-Jews alike,” said Erdan on Tuesday.
“It is not only the story of Jewish emancipation and nationhood; it is also the story of Jewish statehood—the legitimate right of the Jewish people coming home to the land that God promised us. Today, the modern State of Israel is the continuation of that very same Exodus. And it is a story of great success. When every Jewish family retells the story of our journey from being slaves in Egypt to free people in Zion, we remind the world that Israel has been, is and always will be the homeland of the Jewish people,” he added.
Passover begins next Wednesday at sundown and runs seven days in Israel and eight days in the Diaspora.
