Tonight marks the beginning of the Passover holiday, with Jews in Israel and around the world sitting around a table for the annual Seder when the story of Moses leading the Exodus from Egypt is all but reenacted.
A central, and defining, element of the Passover Seder involves the youngest child asking four questions on why this night is different from all other nights.
Well, I posit this question- what makes this Passover Seder different than all other Passover Seders?
The basic answer is nothing. The Palestinians remain divided. Gilad Shalit is still in captivity. The threat of an Iranian nuclear program looms. The peace process is stagnant. Palestinians lack freedom of mobility. Rockets continue to bombard southern Israel.
And the list goes on.
This year’s Passover Seder is no different than last year’s. There has been no semblance of progress in peace talks, returning Shalit to his family, or curtailing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
This year, President Barack Obama will host a private Passover Seder at the White House and his daughters will ask the four questions. Some Israelis have joked about how Obama will rectify the Seder-concluding phrase “next year in Jerusalem” with the administration’s anti settlement rhetoric (joking that Obama would follow the phrase with an exception for Ramat Shlomo).
Part of the Passover Seder is acknowledging how this night is different. Those celebrating the Seder, including President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, should also ask what hasn’t changed- and what they can do to fix that.
A freeze of settlement construction might further prospects for peace. Pressure on the Palestinians could bolster peace negotiations and the return of Shalit to his family. Israel-U.S. cooperation could deter Iran from threatening the Middle East with nuclear weapons.
The Seder is a time for reflection on the history of the Jews and Eretz Israel. That history was never stagnant, with Moses pushing his people out of servitude, obtaining the Ten Commandments, and ultimately finding the promised land.
Maintaining the status quo simply isn’t good enough and Israel, the White House and all regional players should strive to change the dynamic from this Passover Seder to the next.