> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Venice Don’t make seders political
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-budget-deficit-grab-yer-undies-and-hold-tight/
- Published: 2003-04-18T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:05:04.000Z
- Author: Bill Bauer
- Tags: Opinion, Venice, #archive-import

*By Evelyn Jerome Santa Monica*

I was very disappointed to hear that living wage activists chose the Jewish holy ceremony of the Passover seder to organize their next political campaign. One of the most solemn observances in the Jewish religion, Passover is a time for Jews to tell the story of our exodus from slavery in Egypt to our children, to pass down through the generations.

It is not a time for political organizing or campaigning. How would worshippers feel if I brought a group of pro-choice friends to an Easter mass on Sunday and turned it into a rally? Catholics would rightly be as insulted as I was upon hearing that the Passover seder was corrupted into a political organizing tool.

I frequently invite non-Jews to the Passover seder so that they may share this very special part of Jewish history with us. And part of the Jewish culture is to help those less fortunate. But don’t force kids to become unwitting political activists under the guise of religion — don’t we call that religious extremism in other parts of the world?

The rabbis who attended this event owe their congregants an apology. It’s fine to have an interfaith meeting at a local church to discuss the living wage issue. Just don’t call it a seder.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 18, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041803.pdf?ref=smdp.com)