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Celebration or Condemnation? Human Rights, Passover, and the Tenth Plague
Tables are set for Seder at Kyiv’s Brodsky Synagogue. Photo: Helen Chervits
Many of us may be uncomfortable with the sweeping destruction of the Ten Plagues as we recite them at the seder — particularly the final plague, the death of the firstborn, which the Torah takes pains to make clear affected every household in Egypt.
Was it right to kill every firstborn, including children, even if the goal was to win the Israelites’ freedom?
Today, we would in fact likely term such indiscriminate violence a war crime. The Israelites would have been justified in attacking Pharaoh or his taskmasters, but the Geneva Conventions would have prohibited the deliberate targeting of Egypt’s civilian population. What do we make of the fact that something which today we would roundly condemn and perhaps even punish is celebrated in our seder liturgy?
Some of us may resolve this tension by noting the difference between current and Biblical times. The Geneva Conventions were only codified over the last century, and of course didn’t apply in ancient Egypt. So we might regard the slaying of the firstborn similar to how the Torah treats slavery or animal sacrifices — normal and even expected then, but seen very differently today. Viewed in historical context, there is nothing unusual or remarkable about the Torah allowing the keeping of slaves or commanding the ritual slaughter of goats and sheep, and so we shouldn’t be surprised by the wartime killing of innocents in the Bible either. But even so, the Rabbis’ celebration of the plagues and their centrality at the seder may still be troubling.
Some may look to the custom of spilling a drop of wine as we read the plagues to symbolically lessen our joy as adequately expressing this discomfort. But is that enough, or is it like attempting to clean one’s hands of an atrocity with after-the-fact apologies? If this plague is something that requires us to be sorry and apologize for it, why does it maintain its central place at the seder?
Some may find comfort in the fact that the Torah states clearly that the plague of the firstborn was carried out by God. Should any human have done such a thing, we would rightfully question their morality. But all-knowing God could not have harmed the innocent or done any wrong.
While this may sound appealing, here are two rebuttals to consider. First, God’s omniscience may also serve to heighten responsibility. When innocent people are harmed in war, often the explanation is lack of knowledge or lack of ability to adequately safeguard civilians while pursuing military objectives. An all-knowing and all-powerful God cannot give such an excuse.
Second, what happens when a leader comes and says that they are sure what God wants and are fighting to bring about God’s kingdom on Earth? What is to prevent them from then imitating God’s tactics in the Bible? If we accept that norms and rules do not apply to God, there is little to stop those who claim to be acting in his name.
The famous commentator Rashi explains that the plague of the first born was justified because all the Egyptians supported or benefited from the Israelites’ enslavement. Because of that they all deserved to be punished.
While this sounds appealing, such logic would certainly not be accepted under humanitarian law today. Civilians, who must be protected from attacks, are defined as those who are not members of the armed forces and do not take part in hostilities. Even if someone supports a political leader who commits atrocities or benefits from war crimes committed by their country, they retain their protected civilian status.
This is crucial, because otherwise, in nearly every conflict, there would be grounds for wholesale destruction. In times of war, populations tend to rally around their leader, and every leader must have at least some popular support to maintain their position. Allowing citizens to be targeted due to their political opinions would undo the limits on death and destruction that the laws of armed combat set out to achieve.
So how do we explain the plagues at our seder? Some of us may find some combination of the above answers satisfying, or have other explanations as well. Or we may come to believe that this section of the Passover story is in fact at odds with our values and search for a proper way to articulate that at the seder. Human rights or humanitarian principles may at times conflict with the Jewish tradition, and how we reconcile this is an important question for those of us who are committed to both.
Personally, I state clearly at my seder that the killing of the firstborn was wrong and would today be considered a war crime. But that only serves to illustrate how far we’ve come in developing the expectation of wartime restraint. The dilemma of how to fight for a just cause, such as freedom from slavery, without impermissibly violating the rights of innocent people is just as relevant and difficult today as in ancient times. The seder presents a wonderful opportunity to discuss this, and we will likely find that even among friends and family who share our core values, different opinions abound.
Shlomo Levin is the author of the Human Rights Haggadah, and he writes about legal developments related to human rights issues of interest to the Jewish community. You can find him at https://hrhaggadah.com/.
The post Celebration or Condemnation? Human Rights, Passover, and the Tenth Plague first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations into Abraham Accords, Sources Say
US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 31, 2025. Photo: Kent Nishimura via Reuters Connect
President Donald Trump’s administration is actively discussing with Azerbaijan the possibility of bringing that nation and some Central Asian allies into the Abraham Accords, hoping to deepen their existing ties with Israel, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter.
As part of the Abraham Accords, inked in 2020 and 2021 during Trump’s first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.
Azerbaijan and every country in Central Asia, by contrast, already have longstanding relations with Israel, meaning that an expansion of the accords to include them would largely be symbolic, focusing on strengthening ties in areas like trade and military cooperation, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Such an expansion would reflect Trump’s openness to pacts that are less ambitious than his administration’s goal to convince regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia to restore ties with Israel while war rages in Gaza.
The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognize Israel without steps towards Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.
Another key sticking point is Azerbaijan’s conflict with its neighbor Armenia, since the Trump administration considers a peace deal between the two Caucasus nations as a precondition to join the Abraham Accords, three sources said.
While Trump officials have publicly floated several potential entrants into the accords, the talks centered on Azerbaijan are among the most structured and serious, the sources said. Two of the sources argued a deal could be reached within months or even weeks.
Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, in March to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Aryeh Lightstone, a key Witkoff aide, met Aliyev later in the spring in part to discuss the Abraham Accords, three of the sources said.
As part of the discussions, Azerbaijani officials have contacted officials in Central Asian nations, including in nearby Kazakhstan, to gauge their interest in a broader Abraham Accords expansion, those sources said. It was not clear which other countries in Central Asia – which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan – were contacted.
The State Department, asked for comment, did not discuss specific countries, but said expanding the accords has been one of the key objectives of Trump. “We are working to get more countries to join,” said a US official.
The Azerbaijani government declined to comment.
The White House, the Israeli foreign ministry and the Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Any new accords would not modify the previous Abraham Accords deals signed by Israel.
OBSTACLES REMAIN
The original Abraham Accords – inked between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan – were centered on restoration of ties. The second round of expansion appears to be morphing into a broader mechanism designed to expand US and Israeli soft power.
Wedged between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan occupies a critical link in trade flows between Central Asia and the West. The Caucasus and Central Asia are also rich in natural resources, including oil and gas, prompting various major powers to compete for influence in the region.
Expanding the accords to nations that already have diplomatic relations with Israel may also be a means of delivering symbolic wins to a president who is known to talk up even relatively small victories.
Two sources described the discussions involving Central Asia as embryonic – but the discussions with Azerbaijan as relatively advanced.
But challenges remain and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached, particularly with slow progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The two countries, which both won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh – an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population – broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia.
In 2023, Azerbaijan retook Karabakh, prompting about 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both sides have since said they want to sign a treaty on a formal end to the conflict.
Primarily Christian Armenia and the US have close ties, and the Trump administration is wary of taking action that could upset authorities in Yerevan.
Still, US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump himself, have argued that a peace deal between those two nations is near.
“Armenia and Azerbaijan, we worked magic there,” Trump told reporters earlier in July. “And it’s pretty close.”
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Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara
A Polisario fighter sits on a rock at a forward base, on the outskirts of Tifariti, Western Sahara, Sept. 9, 2016. Photo: Reuters / Zohra Bensemra / File.
US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying a Moroccan autonomy plan for the territory was the sole solution to the disputed region, state news agency MAP said on Saturday.
The long-frozen conflict pits Morocco, which considers the territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks an independent state there.
Trump at the end of his first term in office recognized the Moroccan claims to Western Sahara, which has phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds, as part of a deal under which Morocco agreed to normalize its relations with Israel.
His secretary of state, Marco Rubio, made clear in April that support for Morocco on the issue remained US policy, but these were Trump’s first quoted remarks on the dispute during his second term.
“I also reiterate that the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and supports Morocco’s serious, credible and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute,” MAP quoted Trump as saying in a message to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.
“Together we are advancing shared priorities for peace and security in the region, including by building on the Abraham Accords, combating terrorism and expanding commercial cooperation,” Trump said.
As part of the Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.
In June this year, Britain became the third permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to back an autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty for the territory after the U.S. and France.
Algeria, which has recognized the self-declared Sahrawi Republic, has refused to take part in roundtables convened by the U.N. envoy to Western Sahara and insists on holding a referendum with independence as an option.
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Israel Says Its Missions in UAE Remain Open Despite Reported Security Threats
President Isaac Herzog meets on Dec. 5, 2022, with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. Photo: GPO/Amos Ben Gershom
i24 News – Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that its missions to the United Arab Emirates are open on Friday and representatives continue to operate at the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai in cooperation with local authorities.
This includes, the statement underlined, ensuring the protection of Israeli diplomats.
On Thursday, reports appeared in Israeli media that Israel was evacuating most of its diplomatic staff in the UAE after the National Security Council heightened its travel warning for Israelis staying in the Gulf country for fear of an Iranian or Iran-sponsored attacks.
“We are emphasizing this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organizations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel,” the NSC said in a statement.
After signing the Abraham Accords with Israel in 2020, the UAE has been among the closest regional allies of the Jewish state.
Israel is concerned about its citizens and diplomats being targeted in retaliatory attacks following its 12-day war against Iran last month.
Earlier this year, the UAE sentenced three citizens of Uzbekistan to death for last year’s murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi Zvi Cohen.