Dear Friend,
Last week, we gathered around our Seder tables to retell the story of our liberation from Egyptian slavery to begin a new life of freedom as we journeyed towards our promised land. This year, the longing for liberation felt like more than just a story of the past. Indeed, it was a prayer for the hostages' release and a democracy that respects all our freedoms.

But just days later, I saw videos of Christians celebrating the annual Holy Fire Ceremony on the day before Easter at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. Instead of the celebration of hope for peace and healing and freedom that it's intended to be, I saw worshippers being shoved, insulted, and humiliated by the police.

Thousands of pilgrims travel from all over the world to participate in this unique occasion, one of the most sacred moments of the year for Eastern Christian communities. During the ceremony, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch enters Jesus' traditional tomb and lights a candle, then passes the flame to celebrants outside, who pass it from candle to candle, spreading light among pilgrims from all over the world. Like the fire of the Olympic torch, it is transported to national seats of Orthodox Christian faith as far as Athens, Sofia, Moscow, Belgrade, Bucharest, and others, symbolizing hope for a more peaceful world liberated from oppression and suffering.

But the scenes from the ceremony this year do not depict joy and sanctity. In video after video, I saw people weeping and pleading as they were roughly turned away at the entrance to the Church. One shows an unarmed man calmly daring to question the aggression of a Border Police officer, who suddenly draws his gun, treating this peaceful devout man as a threat. He doesn’t shoot, thank God, but the message is clear. Rather than a message of tolerance, it is a message of violence.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. Abuses of Christians in Jerusalem's Old City are symptoms of a horrible phenomenon we’ve been tracking for years. Priests are spat on in broad daylight on their way to prayer. Churches and cemeteries are defaced. Crosses are broken. Sacred spaces are desecrated. All these violations are perpetrated by Jewish religious extremists, often young teenagers. In 2024 alone, the Religious Freedom Data Center, with which we work, documented 109 acts of violence and vandalism targeting Christians in Israel. Time after time, the police do nothing.

(Pictured above, scenes from the old city during Holy Week: including, lower right the defacement of Christian images, and upper left, in vests, volunteers, in a program initiated by Religion Scholar Yisca Harani, to accompany Christians in the Old City and to deter violence and abuse that happens all to often at the hands of some extremist Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox Jews).

This is a betrayal of everything Israel was founded upon, and of the promise of Jerusalem as a city of peace. The prophet Isaiah tells us God declared that the Temple, his house, will be called a house of prayer for all peoples (56:8). Our beloved capital city, revered and dreamed of by members of three great religions must not be degraded by hateful behavior towards people of any faith.

Recently, Bishop Koryun Baghdasaryan, Dean of the Manor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, shared his devastating experience. “Every day when I leave my home to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I wonder if something will happen to me."

We, knowing how Jews have been victims of harassment and violence over generations for practicing our religion, must not stay silent in the face of such pain.

At IRAC, we refuse to normalize hate by looking away. We have sent complaints to the police and are now offering legal assistance and representation to victims through a hotline operated by the Religious Freedom Data Center. We are initiating a Knesset committee hearing on these growing outrages and will expose this in traditional and social media to raise public awareness and demand action.

There is no question in my mind that the vast majority of Israelis who find out about these vile and cruel acts consider them an affront to everything we believe in as Jews and as human beings. We reject them anywhere and at any time, but especially in our home when we have just celebrated our liberation and are about to celebrate our independence on Yom Haatzmaut.

Thirty-six times, more than any other commandment, the Torah repeats: You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Exodus 22:20).

What meaning can Passover have if it doesn't remind us of our experiences of oppression, if it doesn't call us to appreciate our freedom and reinforce our obligation to love the stranger, protect the vulnerable, and stand for justice?

We will not let faith be met with fear. Not in our name. Not in our city.

Sincerely,

Orly Erez-Likhovski

PS. If you believe in building an Israel that reflects your values of democracy, equality, justice, and religious freedom, there’s something you can do, right now! Vote in the World Zionist Congress elections! The WZC controls billions of dollars, funds that can either support liberal Jewish life in Israel or fuel an extremist and fundamentalist agenda. Your vote determines where those resources go. Voting Reform means investing in pluralism and against extremism. This opportunity arises once every five years and voting ends on May 4. Vote Reform today at zionistelections.org  before the polls close, and help shape the future of Judaism and democracy in Israel.

Vote Reform! Vote Now! Spread the word!

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PS. If you believe in building an Israel that reflects your values of democracy, equality, justice, and religious freedom, there’s something you can do, right now! Vote in the World Zionist Congress elections! The WZC controls billions of dollars, funds that can either support liberal Jewish life in Israel or fuel an extremist and fundamentalist agenda. Your vote determines where those resources go. Voting Reform means investing in pluralism and against extremism. This opportunity arises once every five years and voting ends on May 4. Vote Reform today at zionistelections.org  before the polls close, and help shape the future of Judaism and democracy in Israel.
Vote Reform! Vote Now! Spread the word!
https://www.vote4reform.org/
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