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Diplomats' Model Seder: 25th March 2025

A privileged opportunity to plug into history and culture - and contemporary issues - courtesy of the Commonwealth Jewish Council.

A remarkable gathering took place this week in London, the like of which has probably never before been seen - at least not since last year at about the same time!

Once again, the Commonwealth Jewish Council held its increasingly renowned Diplomats' Model Seder attended by senior diplomats from all around the Commonwealth, together with others involved with the Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth Secretariat's Assistant Secretary General (maintaining their excellent record of the most senior officers joining in, including in the past both the Secretary General herself and the Director General of the Commonwealth Foundation), several participants from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and leaders of the Commonwealth Jewish Council. It's increasingly becoming the hot ticket in town and next year's Seder is already being planned.

For those not in the know, a 'Seder' (rhymes with 'raider') is the remarkable meal/service/ceremony/social that Jews have celebrated every year for the last three and a half thousand years or so at the festival of Passover (Pesakh). It commemorates the story in the book of Exodus in the Bible, where it tells of how God took the People of Israel (the Jews) out of slavery in Egypt to start their long trek to their Promised Land.

The occasion is convivial in atmosphere, aided by the statutory four glasses of wine in celebration (don't worry - no-one got drunk - the glasses are fairly small, and those who avoid alcohol had a grape juice option to substitute). Everyone had a chance to try 'matza', the traditional unleavened bread of Pesakh and the bitter herbs brought tears to the eyes - a couple of High Commissioners were taken by surprise by its strength! - and all sang along with gusto, even when the choruses were in Hebrew!

More serious moments came when, for example, contemplating slavery and the fact that it is by no means merely a thing of the past. Clive Lawton, your blogger here and CJC's CEO, led the evening and drew participants' attention to the phenomenon of 'sports slavery' when the dreams and aspirations of the young are cruelly exploited to compromise such potential athletes into lives of drudgery and damage. I was pleased to be able to welcome the Ghanaian Acting High Commissioner so I could congratulate him in person on the work that Ghana is doing to confront this newly identified form of modern slavery. (I was also pleased to be able to welcome the Dominican 1st Secretary whose impassioned insights at a CJC gathering several years ago had led the CJC to create its climate challenge campaign 'Small islands: Big Challenges'. Until this encounter, I'd not had the chance to tell her how consequential her words had been for us all those years ago).

While the Seder is ancient its themes are eternal. Jews of course remember that the treatment they received described in the Bible appears to be only the first example of oppression and attempted destruction that we have faced over the centuries but the mood of the evening is never sombre, but optimistic and future-facing.

The High Commissioners and other senior diplomats present - from every region of the Commonwealth - left after a good meal, good fellowship and good conversation, a little more informed about what makes Jews tick, but also with heightened awareness as to why the issues of the Seder and Passover continue to resonate in our troubled world.

Pesakh (Passover) is coming up soon for Jews - it's usually around the time of Easter (many Christian scholars think that the 'Last Supper' described in the Christian New Testament was in fact a Seder) - so let me finish by wishing all Jewish readers of this blog a very happy Pesakh and, in a nice coincidence this year, I can also wish our Muslim friends Eid Mubarak for this weekend. (We had no Muslims with us this year because of course they were fasting for Ramadan.) And then, a week or so after Jews celebrate their seders all around the world, Christians will be thinking through key issues for them at Easter.

As ever then, springtime is a season of hope and new life. Let us all pray then that the coming year is better than the last and that, in fellowship, we can work together for the betterment of all the citizens of the Commonwealth. The CJC is pledged to that and looks forward to finding friends and allies old and new to continue such work.

Clive Lawton OBE JP

CEo, Commonwealth Jewish Council

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The Commonwealth Jewish Council supports and protects Jewish communities within the Commonwealth and advances Commonwealth interests with campaigns, projects and shared Jewish values.

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