Over 130 hostages remain captive in Gaza following the October 7th attack on Israel.
Passover, a time when Jews commemorate their liberation from slavery in Egypt, carries an even more profound significance this year due to the ongoing crisis between Israelis and Palestinians.
Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles has marked off over 130 seats in a public plaza next to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art as 'Hostage Square'.
At the onset of Passover 2024, a time when Jews around the world commemorate their liberation from slavery in Egypt, over 130 hostages remain captive in Gaza following the October 7th attack on Israel. This unfortunate situation raises painful reminders and evokes feelings of abandonment and embattlement among American Jews.
Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles refers to a public plaza next to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art as 'Hostage Square,' where more than 130 seats are marked off with blue ribbon, each representing a hostage taken during the October 7th attack on Israel. The Rabbi's poignant gesture serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing crisis and its impact on the Jewish community.
Meanwhile, Jews worldwide prepare to gather for Seders to re-enact the Exodus story, emphasizing empathy and remembering suffering. This year's Passover carries an even more profound significance as Israelis and Palestinians are urged to listen to each other's stories and histories in hopes of building a different future.
The Bible teaches that one should not oppress strangers because Jews have themselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. This message is particularly relevant now, as both peoples grapple with their traumas and seek redemption.
Despite the challenges, Passover remains a symbol of hope and freedom. The story of Exodus serves as a reminder that even in times of darkness, change is possible.
Israel was invaded on Oct. 7 and had the right to defend itself but failed to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to civilians in Gaza.
There are too many dead civilians, injured children, and suffering Gazans.
Accuracy
129 hostages remain in Hamas’s hands.
Deception
(30%)
The author makes editorializing statements and uses emotional manipulation by describing the deaths of civilians in Gaza as 'terrible consequences' and 'maximizing the deaths of its own people'. She also selectively reports information by focusing on the deaths in Gaza without mentioning the reason for Israel's invasion or Hamas's responsibility for embedding themselves within civilian population. The author also uses sensational language such as 'brutally invaded', 'failure to facilitate the delivery of food and other humanitarian aid', and 'resistance feels fundamentally un-Jewish'.
Israel was brutally invaded on Oct. 7; it had the right and the duty to defend itself.
The continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state feels more tenuous than at any time in my life.
But to say that does not go far enough to recognize Israel’s responsibility, in particular for its failure to facilitate the delivery of food and other humanitarian aid to the civilian population.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting the Passover Haggadah and referencing the Anti-Defamation League. She also uses inflammatory rhetoric by stating 'Hamas is seeking to destroy us as Jews' and 'much as we would prefer to believe otherwise, it is now happening here.' These statements are emotionally charged and do not provide any evidence or logical reasoning.
“Hamas is seeking to destroy us as Jews”
“much as we would prefer to believe otherwise, it is now happening here.”
Bias
(80%)
The author expresses a clear bias towards the Palestinian cause and against Israel. She repeatedly mentions the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and their right to humanitarian aid, while acknowledging Israel's right to defend itself but criticizing its failure to facilitate aid delivery. The author also implies that Hamas is not entirely responsible for the conflict and that both sides are at fault, but her language is more sympathetic towards the Palestinians. She also mentions the rise of antisemitism in the US and links it to opposition to Israel, but her primary focus is on Palestinian suffering.
But that leaves the matter of what to do about this year. Even as we give thanks for liberation, we must keep in mind that 1,200 were slaughtered on Oct. 7 and that others, who knows how many are still alive, are being held hostage in Gaza. There are too many Seder tables with empty chairs.
Had Hamas not embedded itself within, and underneath, the civilian population, many of these deaths would not have occurred; Hamas is the only combatant in the history of urban warfare whose strategy is to maximize the deaths of its own people.
Much as we would prefer to believe otherwise, it is now happening here.
The continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state feels more tenuous than at any time in my life.
