By: Joshua Rosenberg. April 29,2026.
NEW ORLEANS — If there were ever a single gauge (there’s not) with which to measure Jewish New Orleanians’ interest in Anti-Zionist spaces, then the RSVP list for Jewish Voice for Peace’s annual Seder might be it. This year, they had to stop taking reservations because they reached capacity.
Seder tells the story of Passover: Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt and towards the “Promised Land.” From the “narrow place” to one of openness and freedom. Today, Jews are searching for an authentic, personal connection to the ritual that’s also rooted in everyday reality, Jewish Voice For Peace-New Orleans (JVPNOLA), told The Rosenberg Brief.
“People are looking for a space that’s honest and direct about what is happening, and not avoiding it, and how it is related to our Judaism in the sense that it’s our Judaism and Jewish ritual being used to justify this genocide and actions in Gaza,” Ariel Moyal, a member-leader with the group, said.
“People say I feel despairing about it or angry,” Moyal said. “I haven’t known what to do, and I need to do something. JVP is a space to do that, and to be together in it.”
The reality is that Israel has been committing the most egregious crimes imaginable with total impunity. The reality is the world has watched a live-streamed genocide that Israel perpetrated against Palestine.
Any Seder, or any other ritual, would be empty if Jews were to ignore that reality, Moyal said.
And right now, people are seeking out spaces that honor that truth, Cypress Atlas, a member-leader with JVP NOLA told The Rosenberg Brief.
“The things we’ve seen the most participation in have been ritual, holiday, Shabbat spaces. All the spaces that people might seek community through organized Judaism,” Atlas said.
Institutional spaces ignore that truth at their own peril, she said,
“I’ve gone to several services at different synagogues here in town,” Atlas said. “And there’s always been a point where dedication to Israel as a nation-state comes up at some point. It’s in those moments, I kind of check out.”
Even if the nomenclature is catching up to the sentiment, that is.
“People who value peace and liberation and an end to oppression are just seeking other spaces. I think a lot of people maybe don’t identify as Anti-Zionist – yet,” she said. “Hopefully we can get them there. But a lot of people might just be uncomfortable with that allegiance to a genocidal state that is using Judaism as a moral cover for the most horrible things many of us have ever seen.”
Editorial note: Joshua Rosenberg is a member of JVP. Rosenberg attended this year’s Seder.
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