'Passover is significant': Hundreds gather for seder dinner in Carrboro as FBI warns of uptick in violence against Jewish people
As Jewish people started celebrating Passover on Monday, Jewish people around the country are on edge after the FBI reported an increase in threats against Muslim and Jewish Americans.
Hundreds of Jewish Americans in Carrboro and Chapel Hill gathered for a seder dinner on Monday at the Carrboro Hampton Inn & Suites. According to organizers, the theme of the seder was “The Unbroken Chain of Jewish Existence.” The seder dinner took participants through the wondrous liberation of our ancestors from Egyptian bondage and help participants understand the Seder’s relevance to Jewish people today.
“Every year, Passover is significant,” Rabbi Levi Herber said. “Not just commemorating an event that happened thousands of years ago … we live it, and every year, we gain insight and the spirit of freedom.”
Executive Director of Chabad of Durham-Chapel Hill Rabbi Zalman Bluming said this year’s seder is a “defiance against the forces of hatred” and reaffirms their commitment to freedom.
“Now, more than ever, the Jewish nation stands against the relentless attacks from our enemies,” he said.
The FBI said threats to the American Jewish community grew before the war, but hate crimes have spiked since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in Israel.
"I want you to know that we, the FBI, are closely tracking these very real threats that have your communities on edge, and we are actively hitting back at perpetrators full force," said Christopher Wray, director of the FBI.
The war was still on the minds of several people who celebrated while hostages remain in Gaza.
“Many people are trying to figure out what they can do,” Mendel Heber, a Yeshiva student, said. “It’s definitely on all of our minds, but the Passover holiday {and} entire freedom is what allows us to celebrate.
The war, which has risked becoming a wider conflict on several occasions, has forced several people to pick sides on which side is right, leading to tense moments at protests.
Columbia University canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at Yale and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public on Monday as some of the most prestigious U.S. universities sought to diffuse campus tensions over Israel's war with Hamas.
Jewish people said some of the protests veered into anti-Semitism and made them feel unsafe. Rabbi Herber said the Jewish community is used to discrimination.
“This is nothing new to our community,” he said. “Unfortunately, for thousands of years.”
The group remained hopeful tensions would ease and that Jewish and Muslim people could achieve peace.
“The ultimate redemption for our people and the world over is ultimate peace. The actual peace of the Messiah, where the world will recognize putting aside all wars, all conflict and focus on unity, God and peace,” Rabbi Heber said.
