Jews Prepare for Passover as Jewish Slaves Remain in Gaza

The Jewish world is preparing for the start of the Passover holiday on Monday evening in a year when there are Jewish slaves being held in captivity by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.

Passover celebrates the Biblical story of the Exodus, when the Israelite slaves left Egypt for freedom and eventually, the Promised Land of Israel.

The central ritual of the Passover holiday is the seder, an ordered meal in which participants reenact the Exodus by reading special texts and eating special foods. The Passover text, the Haggadah, instructs: “In generation upon generation, it is incumbent upon each individual to regard himself as if he [personally] left Egypt.”

This year, that injunction is particularly poignant, as there are 133 Israeli hostages still in Gaza, many of whom are thought to be alive — and many of whom have been sold as slaves, and forced to work as slaves, for their captors.

Earlier this month, a former Israeli hostage who was set free during a November truce told a French media outlet that she had been kidnapped by Palestinian civilians during the October 7 terror attack, and then later sold to Hamas.

Similarly, two Israeli hostages who had been freed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers told journalists after their release that they had been forced to work as slaves for a Palestinian family, cooking for them but receiving little food.

Their story recalls the symbolism of the matzah, the unleavened bread that is consumed on Passover both as a symbol of freedom and a symbol of the poverty — the “bread of affliction” to which slaves were subjected in Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Sunday citing the continued captivity of hostages in Gaza, and recalling the traditional themes of the holiday:

Why is this night different, citizens of Israel?

On this night, 133 of our dear brothers and sisters are not around the Seder table, and they are still held hostage by Hamas in hellish conditions.

We have already freed 124 of our hostages and we are committed to returning them all home – the living and the deceased alike.

And why is this night not different?

That in every generation they rise up to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from them.

This time as well, we will overcome those who seek our lives – thanks to the faith of our people, the daring of our fighters and the unity among us.

On this Seder night, our hostages being held by Hamas are before our eyes. Their suffering and the suffering of their families rends our heart and only strengthens our resolve to bring them back. We are not relenting, not even for a moment, from our sacred mission to return them home.

Unfortunately, until now, all proposals for releasing the hostages have been rejected outright by Hamas. Therefore, the American Secretary of State rightly said that Hamas has refused every proposal that it has been presented with. In his words, the only thing preventing a hostage release deal is Hamas.

Instead of withdrawing from its extreme positions, Hamas is counting on a rift among us. It draws encouragement from the pressure being directed at the Government of Israel. As a result of this, it has only hardened its conditions for the release of our hostages. It is hardening its heart and refusing to let our people go.

Therefore, we will strike it with additional painful blows – and this will happen soon.

In the coming days, we will increase the military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to free our hostages and achieve our victory.

Citizens of Israel, on the eve of Passover, when the people of Israel went forth from slavery to freedom, let us remember our fallen heroes, and our wounded fighters, thanks to whose sacrifice, we are free people.

The State of Israel is strong and the IDF is strong – both defensively and offensively. Our enemies cannot overcome us – we will overcome them.

I salute our heroic soldiers who are fighting on all fronts – on land, at sea and in the air. I embrace my fellow bereaved brothers and sisters, who have lost what is most dear.

My late brother Yoni, who fell in battle to return hostages, wrote the simple historic truth, that the IDF is the only factor standing in the breach and preventing the slaughter of our people as in the past.

I will strongly defend the IDF, our army and our fighters. If somebody thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit in the IDF – I will fight this with all my powers.

As our soldiers are united in defending us on the battlefield, we are united in defending them in the diplomatic arena.

Together we will fight and with G-d’s help, together we will win.

The Prime Minister’s Office also released a video, titled “Empty Chair,” to highlight the plight of the hostages:

The Passover holiday also has relevance for Christians, as the Last Supper was a Passover seder. Jesus imparted new meaning to the matzah, as well as to the wine that consumed during the meal, which form the basis for communion.

Passover begins at sundown Monday, April 22, and lasts through nightfall on Tuesday, April 29 in Israel, and Wednesday, April 30 outside of Israel.Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.