May 9, 2024
Mercer Island, Washington - On April 17th, 2024, AJC Seattle was proud to host our annual Community Passover Seder and share the similarities of others’ plight from oppression to redemption. We were honored to share this evening with diplomatic representatives and elected leaders from Japan and the United Kingdom, and honorary guests from Rwanda, Ireland, Germany, and Ethiopia. Also in attendance were elected leaders from the cities of Seattle, Bellevue, and Tukwila, local law enforcement liaisons, Washington State Representatives, staff members of our state Congressional delegation, and our friends and allies in the Seattle area.
Together, we shared a festive meal, and were led by our own Rabbi James Mirel in a retelling of the Passover story. Elected officials, diplomats, and cmmunity leaders shared their connections to our community and their own interpretations of the importance of sharing these experiences with Jewish communities.
American Jewish Committee (AJC) Regional Board Member Lorri Staal shared her family’s story of hiding during the Holocaust, and of the Dutch neighbors who protected her family’s heirlooms until they could be returned to her as the descendent of their rightful owners. The President Emeritus of the Rwandan Community in Washington, Emmanuel Muvunyi, shared stories of his and his nation’s experience with genocide and linked it to the story of Passover as well as the fears of Jewish communities in the present moment. AJC Jerusalem Director, Lt. Col. (res.) Avital Leibovitch, provided a first-hand account of how Israel – both the Israel Defense Forces and society at large – is responding to the Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7.
Together, we created joy and community as we celebrated one of the formative experiences of the Jewish People. We are grateful to those who attended and look forward to sharing future experiences with our diplomatic supporters, as well as those in state and local government and all who support the Jewish community.
