We are urged at the Passover Seder to tell the story of the Exodus in ever greater detail. There are, however, midrashim (stories) that do not appear in the Haggadah. Three of them joined our Seder this year. The first begins with Pharaoh’s decree that every Jewish boy be cast into the Nile. The Egyptians enter Jewish homes with their own infants. They pinch them. When the Egyptian babies cry, the Jewish babies cry in response. That is how they are found -- and killed. The instinct to answer a child’s distress is a beautiful one. It is used against us. The second midrash describes a moment of lost hope. Amram, a leader of the tribe of Levi, concludes that bringing Jewish children into the world is no longer justified. If they are born only to suffer and die, better not conceive them at all. Others follow his lead. Miriam, his daughter, confronts him: Pharaoh’s decree is limited only to the male children. Yours is not. You have ended the future altogether. He reverses himself. He becomes Moshe’s father. The last midrash takes place at the sea. The Jews are trapped between the water and the Egyptian army. Moshe prays at length. But God cuts him off. There is a time to pray and a time to move. Action is needed now, not words. What do these vignettes share? Each revolves around a drama driven by worthy human instincts – empathy, the prevention of suffering, prayer. Each shows how that instinct can fail. The first story unfolds in Gaza today as it did in Egypt. Hamas carried out its murderous October 7th attacks knowing that images of dead children would inflame global anger against Israel. My father, Elie Wiesel understood this, and called on world leaders years earlier to “condemn Hamas’ use of children as human shields”. We are manipulated by terrorists eager to sacrifice their own children into weakening the security needed to protect our own. This weaponization of empathy is what @GadSaad calls “suicidal empathy”. The second story is personal for me. After the Shoah, my father’s pain and despair led him to say that the world did not deserve more Jewish children, until my mother (also a Miriam!) and my father’s friend and teacher —the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rabbi Saul Lieberman—urged him to choose life and, ultimately, raise a Jewish child. Today, some say: My Jewish children will be safer if they are not Jewish. Let’s not circumcise our baby boy. Let’s skip the Passover Seder this year. Let’s stop going to shul, or Temple. Or if we must stay Jewish, let’s appease the antisemites by publicly denouncing Zionism. This question has not disappeared. The pressure is real. So is the consequence. With regards to the final story, my father wrote: “Words can sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds.” But it is the exception, not the rule. The action, our sages tell us, is what matters. Today, Israel is under unprecedented strain. Externally, Iran and Hezbollah seek Israel’s physical destruction. Internally, a small minority of West Bank settlers engage in violence against Palestinian civilians and seek Israel’s moral destruction. Amidst a military manpower shortage, the Israeli ultra-Orthodox hide shamefully behind prayer and Torah study as their reason to shirk army service. In the West, we’ve gotten used to "thoughts and prayers" in reaction to tragedy or violence. It's become a meme joke. We have forgotten the power of action. When we sent thoughts and prayers to the Syrians gassed by Assad, and President Obama failed to enforce his red line, chaotic waves of immigration reshaped continents and policy in troubling ways. Are we committed to making the world better, not just wishing it better? Even our finest traits can be hijacked. Empathy can become suicidal when it is manipulated by those who seek our destruction. A determination to end suffering can become a reason to halt the continuation of our people. And excessive prayer can hinder moral action. Our work this Pesach is not to discard those virtues, but to reclaim them. Let’s resolve to defeat our enemies even while we retain compassion for their children. Let’s believe in our ability to create a future worthy of all children, including Jewish ones. And let’s pray for the strength we need to get out of our seats and shape this world into the one described by the Seder’s promise of redemption.

If you want to know about anti Jewish hate on campus, see this @stigabell x.com/i/status/2021954752855…

My daughter, a UCL student, faced antisemitism on campus after Oct 7 2023. She is currently on her year abroad and doesn't want to return to UCL. Here's why.

“I received a screenshot from a colleague who went on the self checker and found sure enough that his data had been released.” The MoD data leaks is a “very serious" and will cost the British government a “huge amount of money", says Professor at UCL, Brad Blitz.

My Holocaust Memorial debate speech from yesterday: I focused on the dangers of making even the word 'Holocaust' a Jew-free zone; all about free-floating evil, so relativised it's rendered banal. As a result, many young activists don't even spot anti-Semitic echos of Nazism in today's politics. Meanwhile, too many look away when today's would-be exterminators of Jews - the radical Islamists and their apologists - are increasingly influential in media, cultural and educational institutions. A call to arms against complacency, with a shout out to those who are fighting against these trends like @OurFightUk and Brendan O'Neill's new book 'After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation'.

Wonderful to see today's celebrations at our local Hindu temple, but why does @BarnetCouncil need to be reminded that intergenerational communities need accessible parking? @SaveHendon @ChinmayaMission @AsianVoiceNews

“Your universities are now environments of unprecedented hostility...some campuses are beginning to descend into cesspits of pernicious antisemitism reminiscent of humanity’s darkest days.” Antisemitism is surging on UK campuses, bringing new levels of hate and intimidation. That’s why we have been joined by so many Jewish students in an open letter to Vice-Chancellors of universities across the UK where encampments have been established, demanding action. “Jewish students and staff have faced abuse, their property has been damaged, and some have endured physical violence.” With those in the encampments making demands of university administrations, we join Jewish students in making our own demands. Universities must: ▪️Not accept any of the demands of the encampments and make clear that they will not bow to pressure ▪️Apply all codes of conduct against those intimidating Jewish students ▪️Announce the creation of new staff positions dedicated to tackling antisemitism on campus ▪️Reassure the campus community of the university's commitment to the International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism ▪️Arrange for the delivery of updated antisemitism training to all staff and faculty Universities must act now to protect Jewish students and staff. @ucl @BristolUni @SOAS @uniofwarwick @UniversityLeeds @SwanseaUni @LivUni @UniofNewcastle @EdinburghUni @aberdeenuni @OfficialUoM @sheffielduni @UniofOxford @LSEnews @KingsCollegeLon @durham_uni @LancasterUni @unilincoln @UniofNottingham @uniofleicester @UniKent @BangorUni @FalmouthUni @unibirmingham @YorkUniversity @AstonUniversity @AberUni @UniofReading @cardiffuni @SussexUni @portsmouthuni @UniofExeter @QMUL @UArts

Disappointed with @Columbia @nyuniversity @Harvard Come, join us in the great city of London, voted the best student city by @TopUnis. Study @ucl & be part of @IOE_London - world Number 1 for education for 11 years. Applications open: ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-an… @USNewsEducation

THE DAY Residents got stuffed AGAIN, this time by the PARTY that "ALWAYS WORKS with LOCAL COMMUNITIES.. on OUR SIDE & HERE to HELP." Circus 🎪 starts at 00:38 for @BarnetCouncil & @MiddlesexUni's #HendonHub Loving it (not) 💔 aisapps.sonicfoundry.com/Aud…

Tomorrow. Déjà Vu. Come witness @BarnetCouncil & @MiddlesexUni's #HendonHub being approved but this time by @BarnetLabour. Residents will beg & plead but 3 major applications will be passed for "the benefits to the public". As before. #sellout @SaveHendon

Please come support our neighbours who are speaking out against the HENDON HUB at the Strategic Planning Meeting on Tuesday 7pm Hendon Town Hall #StopTheHendonLandGrab #SaveHendon

This, as we await @BarnetCouncil's decision on @MiddlesexUni's proposals in the coming weeks. Took so long to walk away from Crapita. #HendonHub doomed to fail as regeneration project for residents but no one has the guts to walk away. @SaveHendon

Hendon Library & Town Hall to be annexed to a huge new @MiddlesexUni building. @BarnetCouncil If Hendon Library is being “returned to the community”, why is it being physically incorporated into MDX campus? #StopTheHendonLandGrab #SaveHendon

4/4 ... who organised and collected signatures door-to-door for a petition to ask for the Hendon Hub development to be scaled down. We delivered this, in person, to the Vice-Chancellor. #SaveHendon #HendonHub #StopTheHendonLandGrab

3/4 ... in its entirety will be solely for residents. In the meantime, the Hendon Hub development is on hold until some outstanding legal actions and investigations brought by local residents are resolved. We'd also like to hugely thank all the residents ...

2/4 ... to discuss in detail how a change of use from ‘residential area’ to ‘campus’ in the middle of Hendon would adversely impact the community here. We’re hopeful there may still be some room for movement. We were also assured that the original Hendon Library building ...

1/4 *UPDATE* We are grateful to the @BarnetLabour administration for creating an opportunity for us to meet with members of the @MiddlesexUni Board of Governors including the Vice Chancellor alongside Leader of the Council & Barnet Council officers. It meant that we were able...

“The truth is we’re in one hell of a mess” Former Conservative party chairman, Chris Patten, condemns the economic situation in the UK citing inflation, lax monetary policy and Brexit, and calls for politicians to be honest with the public #bbcqt bit.ly/43iWLIj

How local authorities and universities are chasing profit from ethically questionable property development schemes bylinesupplement.com/p/unive… @timeshighered @GuardianEdu