It starts off by ensuring that the reader does not mix up ancient Egypt with modern Egypt - we wouldn't want hate crimes, after all - and also not to confuse the Children of Israel with the State of Israel, which is a terrible entity:
In the wake of the revolutions throughout the Arab World, and particularly in Egypt, we want to acknowledge the distinction between “mitzrayim” — the narrow place, where the story we tell at Passover takes place — and Egypt, the modern-day nation state. We are not conflating contemporary Egyptians with the pharaoh and taskmasters that appear in the Passover story. In the U.S., and worldwide, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia saturate our media and our culture, and we must be vigilant to oppose it and interrupt it at every turn.Once we got that out of the way, it is time to look at the overcrowded Seder plat, which includes:
The word Yisrael (Israel) when found in the liturgy (religious text) does not refer to the modern nation/state of Israel, rather it derives from the blessing given to Ya’akov (Jacob) by a stranger with whom he wrestles all night. When the stranger is finally pinned, Ya’akov asks him for a blessing. The stranger says,“Your name will no longer be Ya’akov but Yisrael
for you have wrestled with G-d and triumphed.” Therefore when we say “Yisrael” in prayer we are referring to being G-d-wrestlers, not Israelis.
Olive – Symbolizing the self-determination of the Palestinian people and an invitation to Jewish communities to become allies to Palestinian liberation struggles.
When breaking the middle matzah, we must of course say that Israel should be overrun with Arabs.
As we break the middle matzah we acknowledge the break that occurred in Palestinian life and culture with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 when hundreds of villages were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. This damage cannot be undone — but repair and return are possible.
A new set of four questions must be asked, including this one:
How will we, as Jews, bear witness to the unjust actions committed in our name?The actual Passover story is long and noring, so we will skip over that, except for the Ten Plagues, because we want to remember the suffering of the Egyptians:
Our freedom was bought with the suffering of others. As we packed our bags that last night in Egypt, the darkness was pierced with screams. May the next sea-opening not also be a drowning; may our singing never again be their wailing. We shall all be free, or none of us shall be free because our liberations are intertwined.
However, we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the ten plagues that Jews are inflicting on Palestinian Arabs today, including:
- Poverty
- Restrictions on movement
- Water shortage
- Destruction of Olive Trees
- Home demolitions
- Settlements
- Political prisoners
- Profiteering
- Denial of the Right of Return
- Erasing histories
Then comes the Palestinian Freedom Riders Song.
Obviously, we must sing the Nakba Dayenu:
When soldiers rounded up Palestinian men and massacred them collectively – we should have said enough.Later we get to Maror, whose symbolism is so obvious:
When Palestinian men were forced into labor camps, where their labor included destroying Palestinian homes – we should have said enough.
When the on the Eve of Passover, in an operation called, “Cleaning Out Chametz” the Haganah shelled the Palestinian residential quarters of Haifa, forcing 70,000, 90% of the city’s Palestinian residents, to flee – we should have said enough.
We taste a bit of maror, the bitter herb, as it calls to mind the bitterness of slavery, the bitterness of life under occupation.
The Korech sandwich is a little less obvious:
We prepare to eat the Hillel sandwich with the sweetness of haroset and the bitterness of maror, highlighting the challenge to us to taste freedom in the midst of oppression, to be aware of oppression even as we are free, we hold the contradictions of bitter and sweet.
Then comes a cup of wine to celebrate BDS, readings about how Shir HaMaalot is immoral because it talks about return to Zion, how "Next Year in Jerusalem" means for Palestinian Arabs, and about the extreme dangers of "Pinkwashing."
Yes, this is a Haggadah that Hamas could love. But it was written by their trusted Jewish dhimmis at JVP. (I'm actually surprised that they kept the idea of four cups of wine, not considering how that could upset JVP's Islamic masters. How inconsiderate of them!)
(h/t Divest This, who plans his own fisking of this piece of trash. He describes it this way:
JVP’s foray into this long-abused genre sets a new precedent for utter tastelessness and self indulgence. It is truly a work that could only have been contemplated (much less executed) by those whose universe consists of nothing but themselves.