This Pesach, we find ourselves at a time when practising our responsibility towards others is perhaps more important than ever before. Governments across the globe may be refusing to show solidarity, but our Jewish values dictate that this is not an option for us.
We are reminded frequently too throughout the festival that it is a mitzvah to welcome the stranger. So, we must be clear that policies that treat refugees with hostility and prevent them from thriving are not in our name. Now, more than ever, with the rights of the most marginalised, including those seeking safety here, increasingly under attack, we need a world where calls for compassion are both heard and answered. We know all too well the consequences when they are not.
This cannot be achieved if we only look inward. And it must be done in partnership with other communities: together, we are so much stronger. Yes, this work is often hard – and we know that it has been more difficult since October 7 – but the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia shows why it is all the more important. When we stand in partnership, united in our values, we can help build a society where there is no space for hate and prejudice.
As a community, we understand the importance of this. And we should be aware too of the results when we make groups the “other”, when fear is weaponised and division deepened and entrenched. With this, we must ensure that we avoid falling into the trap of movements that may claim to support our rights, and fight the prejudice we face, when they fail to make the same commitment for all. Pesach cannot just be a time of liberation for our own people. The struggle for freedom we recount must shape our response to others. Our time in Exodus may be over, yet many today still face this same struggle for sanctuary. When we read about our journey across the desert and a perilous sea, all to escape from a cruel tyrant, we not only reflect on our ancestors’ escape from oppression in Egypt but also the experiences of those forced into such dangerous crossings across the Channel today.
One meaningful way we can put our values into action this year is by calling for the recent ban on refugee citizenship to be overturned. This new policy will mean that people entering the UK irregularly to seek asylum, in the absence of safe routes – and we know this is a pathway some in our own community have been forced to take – will be prevented from ever becoming British citizens. This decision is bad for society, for cohesion and for the UK’s international reputation.
It will leave refugees feeling isolated and unwanted, a status we as British Jews should never wish to see befall another group. So let us remember the words of Hillel: “If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”, and call for change, embracing a Judaism that looks outward and stands for justice, as an active part of a compassionate society.
This Pesach let us strive for a world where liberation is not just a memory, but a reality for all who need it. Next year may we all be free.
Rabbi David Mason is executive director of HIAS+JCORE
