Dear Friends,
With Passover fast
approaching, I extend to you my warm greetings. It is heartbreaking and unfathomable
that some of our brethren will be spending a second Passover in captivity in
Gaza. We pray for their speedy return, and the WJC is doing whatever it can to
assist in that effort.
The Festival of Passover is also known as the
Festival of Spring, a time of year typically associated with renewal and
rebirth. The new growth emerging from the bountiful earth and the blooming of
flowers connects us to the idea of liberation and new beginnings. As we
commemorate the Israelites’ journey from bondage to freedom, may we also tap
into the strength we need to overcome our own challenges: The last year has
been a difficult one indeed, with the ongoing wars in Israel and Ukraine and
the surge in anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment across the world, especially
on university campuses.
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Passover is also about identity and the continuity
of the Jewish people. We retell the story of how we became a people in an
effort to connect with our ancestors. It is also a festival very closely linked
to family and community, as traditionally Jews gather around the Seder table
with family and friends. Community is something on which the WJC places a high
priority, as our purpose, first and foremost, is to serve our affiliated Jewish
communities around the world.
I hope to see many of you soon at the 17th
World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly, taking place from 18–20 May 2025 in
Jerusalem. As the most significant global gathering of Jewish community
representatives, this event will bring together
delegates from more than 100 countries to shape the future of Jewish
communities worldwide.
In my own name, and on behalf of the entire WJC
family, I wish you a meaningful Passover. May we all be able to celebrate in
freedom.
Ronald S. Lauder
President
World Jewish Congress