There’s no question that there’s been static between the Black and Jewish communities over the last two-and-a-half years. Since the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, there has been a slew of negative interactions. But two days before Passover begins, an expected 80-100 Black and Jewish artists and entertainment professionals will gather for a “Freedom Seder.” It’s an annual tradition hosted by the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance (BJEA), which was founded in 2021.
The attendees are also a symbol for fans and fellow entertainers — people who shape culture and influence how audiences think. While the host committee does not include household names, many of them work directly with major artists. It includes executives and artists such as Aton Ben-Horin, EVP of A&R at Warner Music Group, David Zedeck, global head of music at UTA, singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe and actor Emmanuelle Chriqui, along with producers and executives across film, television and music.
The relationship between Black and Jewish communities is often traced back to the civil rights era, symbolized by moments like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma in 1965. That image has come to represent what is often referred to as the “Grand Alliance.”
Despite that history, the Seder comes as tensions between the communities have been tested in the nearly 29 months since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. Younger generations’ hostility toward Israel and alignment with Palestinian causes has created friction with older Jewish communities. The Israel-Gaza war has also sparked rifts among Black college presidents over the United States’ role.
But the civil rights era has also come to be seen as a high-water mark rather than a constant. Tensions began to surface more openly after the 1967 Six-Day War, when some Black leaders began aligning more closely with Palestinian and Arab causes. That shift was not the sole cause of strain, but one of several turning points over time, alongside later disputes over issues such as affirmative action, urban education, labor conflicts like the New York City teachers’ strike and flashpoints including the Crown Heights riots. Taken together, those moments have contributed to a relationship that has evolved unevenly, shaped by both cooperation and disagreement over decades.
Differences between the communities are often tied to competing views of justice, while the decline in day-to-day interaction between the groups has contributed to a growing sense of distance. Still, The Guardian argued only four months after the Oct. 7 attacks that the idea of a consistent “special relationship” between Black and Jewish communities is more of a myth in the present day.
In February, PBS released a four-part series titled “Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History,” hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. The series looks at the distinct origins of both communities and their overlapping experiences, including early civic partnerships by the 1920s. It also explores collaboration in the early 20th century across music, film and opposition to fascism, alongside tensions that emerged even during periods of cooperation. A third episode focuses on the 1960s “Grand Alliance” during the civil rights movement and the imbalances that tested it. The final episode focuses on the period from the 1970s to today, including political tensions, debates over Israel and campus conflicts, and includes a visit to UCLA and the challenge of rebuilding dialogue.
The outdoor Freedom Seder will have about a dozen seder tables at a home in Beverly Hills, each with eight-10 guests. The Seder is structured so that conversation is not optional. Guests are seated at assigned tables and guided through a format that includes prompts to dive deep and personally into discussions about freedom and liberation.
“The reason that I do the table assignment is so that people are forced out of their comfort zone to sit not with people that they work with nor people that they already know, and so that they can actually dive into getting to know somebody that they may not otherwise,” Bianca Tomash, manager of BJEA, told The Journal. “If we were to just allow everyone to sit where they feel comfortable, of course they’re just going to sit with who they came with, who they know, but that’s not the point of these events.”
Tomash said one of the defining aspects of the event is the emphasis on in-person conversation at a time when too much interaction happens only online. “It’s the power of simply being in a shared space at a moment when so many conversations happen online where people encounter each other through shortened headlines, algorithms or whatever click bait they have on their feed.”
“We give enough time for each person at the table to go through and tell their personal story or however they choose to answer the question,” Tomash said. “Everybody leaves dinner making a pretty strong connection with the people at their table just because they’re sitting around and going one by one and speaking about how whatever the question is resonates with them.”
The program is organized around themes such as renewal, solidarity, action and freedom, with prompts including “who is someone who inspires you to be here today at this table … what is the danger of letting our personalized social media guide the narrative” and “what is something about your experience that you feel that you don’t get to say.”
Tomash said the goal of the Freedom Seder “isn’t that everyone agrees, it’s more that everyone leaves feeling heard and with a deeper understanding of one another.”
The Seder follows the Haggadah and incorporates multiple perspectives throughout the evening. In addition to the rabbi leading the traditional elements, a pastor and a co-host each speak during different sections. The event draws from a tradition that dates back to gatherings following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., when Black and Jewish activists came together in Washington, D.C. to share a meal.
The Freedom Seder is one of several events organized by the BJEA, which was launched in 2021 by Black and Jewish executives, artists and creatives following the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the group has brought together industry figures through a range of programming, including Freedom Seders in Los Angeles and New York, private gatherings and events tied to civil rights history and music, and occasional unity statements addressing antisemitism and racism. Past participants have included Tiffany Haddish, Vin Rock of Naughty By Nature, Sharon Osbourne, Randy Jackson and Gene Simmons. The group has also organized events at the Skirball Cultural Center tied to the civil rights photography exhibit “This Light of Ours,” curated the art and portrait exhibition “Through the Glass Ceiling” featuring figures such as Diane Warren and Sherry Lansing, and hosted Juneteenth gatherings and panels marking hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with artists including Xzibit, Layzie Bone, MC Mazic and Steve Lobel, founder of A2Z Entertainment.
The structure of the Seder builds on the Passover tradition of storytelling and questioning, and the shared and often fraught history Black and Jewish people have endured over centuries. At a moment when much of that conversation is happening at a distance, the Seder is built to bring it back into the same room.
“Passover is already such a powerful holiday because it’s built around storytelling and asking questions,” Tomash said. “I would hope that it’s the idea that the Seder can be a space to talk about the meaning of freedom today. Even small additions, like inviting someone new to the table, sharing a personal story, asking a thoughtful question, can make this theater more meaningful and more connected to the world that we live in today.”
