'Seeds of love and hope' at Freedom for All Passover 2025

Our liberation seder was based on old traditions but adapted to face the challenges of today.

It was very special to share our Freedom for All Passover this year with the wider Hastings community. Thank you to everyone who came and the incredible HJJ team who worked so hard to ensure the seder night was a success.

We were heartened to be joined by 70 guests, including members of the local mosque, Hastings councillors, prospective parliamentary candidates as well as friends, new and old.

We have been bowled over by the feedback and thrilled that we have gained a huge number of new members too, keen to connect and be part of our growing community.

One guest wrote: "In a world that feels barren of compassion, tonight I could feel seeds of love and hope."

Another said: "A very special evening. Wonderful to reclaim and celebrate Jewish radical tradition. Thank you to all involved and solidarity to Palestine."

Dr Imad Bourghli, Chair of the Mosque, wrote: “I felt at home, what I heard was coming from the same source of my belief and I thank you for sharing this great event with us.”

Our main seder plate - there was a seder plate on each table.

The “Freedom for All” seder was started last year by an international coalition of Jews, calling for collective liberation, an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and declaring solidarity with the Palestinian people “not in spite of our Judaism, but because of it”.

We read from the new liberation Haggadah created by the coalition, but added our own individual touches too, to make it a very personal evening.

We are grateful to our funders Trinity Wholefoods and The Chalk Cliff Trust for supporting our community event and to all our guests who brought donations.

We raised £600 for Hastings Friends of Al-Mawasi and recommitted ourselves to Tikkun Olam (repair the world) as a community. As the liberation Haggadah states:

"As there are relentless breakages in the world - violence, occupation, apartheid, genocide - there must, too, be continual repair."

The Passover organising committee

We sang, we ate, we took turns to read and reflect and we proclaimed loudly that all our liberation is intertwined. We are not free from Mitzrayim - the constricted and narrow place of our oppression - until everyone is free.

As one of our guests wrote: " We are all stronger together. ❤️ Chag Sameach."

We couldn't agree more.

Setting up the tables in record time

Behind the scenes - the food prep

A few more behind the scenes pictures...

Beautiful new banner by Shelley

Our evening was led by Leah