NEW YORK – Diplomats from all over the world joined Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan for a mock Passover Seder at the organization's headquarters in Manhattan on Tuesday, just one week before the Jewish holiday.
Some 70 ambassadors took part in the festivities, including United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya.
The mock Seder included traditional holiday foods and a reading from the Hagaddah, a text narrating the Seder.
Attendees talked about Passover's traditions and customs in a discussion led by the Aish Global Jewish outreach organization.
The UN's mock Seder tradition was started in 2016 by Erdan's predecessor Danny Danon.
Erdan calls for 'freedom for all people'
Ambassador Erdan, speaking at the event, told his colleagues, “At the Seder we are commanded to retell the Exodus as if we ourselves were slaves in Egypt and we ourselves were brought out by the hand of God... the Exodus – going from slavery to freedom – has become the universal theme of liberation for all people, Jews and non-Jews alike.
"It is not only the story of Jewish emancipation and nationhood; it is also the story of Jewish Statehood – the legitimate right of the Jewish people coming home to the land that God promised us," he continued. "Today, the modern State of Israel is the continuation of that very same Exodus. And it is a story of great success. When every Jewish family retells the story of our journey from being slaves in Egypt, to free people in Zion, we remind the world that Israel has been, is, and always will be the homeland of the Jewish people."
He reiterated that while many see the UN as "the body that 'granted' the Jewish people a State, back in 1947," the land actually belongs to the Jewish people by "divine right."
"Today we are sharing this ancient Jewish tradition with you, not only to remember where my people came from, but also to recognize where we are going," he concluded. "May this year be a year of freedom for all people around the world: from Ukraine, to the people of Iran, and beyond!"