AJC Hosts Its Unity Seder at The Temple

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) held the ninth in its annual series of Unity Seders at The Temple in Midtown on April 11. The event, which grew out of an earlier Passover celebration sponsored by the AJC Black Jewish Coalition has, during its recent history, had to face the reality of serious armed conflict in the world. First, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the following year, the terrorist attack in Southern Israel by Hamas in 2023 and the Gaza War that followed that.

This year, the Unity Seder was observed less than two weeks after the armed conflict between Iran and the United States broke out. And, while there was scant mention of that war and the controversy that has ensued, Dov Wilker, AJC’s Regional Director, ended the evening with a sharp and pointed call for freedom for the Iranian people, who have been ruled by a repressive government for nearly a half-century.

“I do believe that if there’s one thing that unites all of us,” Wilker said, “regardless of our politics, it’s that the oppression that the Iranian people have faced for 47 years is absolutely unacceptable, whether they are Jewish, Zoroastrian, Buddhist. or Muslim. Whatever their faith is, the 92 million people that live in Iran today have an opportunity to regain their freedom, the freedom that has been so harshly taken away from them.”

Attending the Unity Seder were a number of clergy from various denominations and a lay leader from the Catholic Archdiocese. Also participating was Theodore Hertzberg, the U.S, Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, a representative from Atlanta’s mayor’s office, and eight members of Atlanta’s consular corps.

This year’s event was chaired by Sandra Cuttler, Jonathan Zufi, and Mark Spatt. Among the sponsors were the Lovett School, The Weber School, and Holy Innocents Episcopal School.