No Seder with your grandparents
Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett has called on Jews around the world not to welcome grandparents for Passover Seder, pointing to the dangers of infecting elder family members with Coronavirus.
Naftali Bennett
In a video greeting, he urged all Jewish families to ensure that despite the significance and tradition of coming together as a family for the Passover Seder, they refrain from large gatherings – especially those that included elder and younger family members together. “You do not do it this year with grandma and grandpa,” he stressed, and continued, “There will be no Passover Seder with young people and old people together because that’s the single most lethal combination.”
Minister Bennett’s message reiterated his recent statements warning of the dangers of younger people – more likely to be asymptomatic, and unaware they are carrying Coronavirus – infecting elder members of the family for whom the virus has a much higher fatality rate of nearly 20 per cent.
He explained that his family was planning to join a video call on the afternoon before the festival began to enjoy a Seder together with grandparents and relatives abroad, before fulfilling the festive traditions later on as a nuclear family in each location.
“That’s my recommendation,” said Minister Bennett and added firmly, “But I forbid every Jew in the world from doing a Passover Seder with grandma and grandpa. Even if you think you can isolate them doing it from 20 feet away, you can’t, they will get the Coronavirus. There’s no way to have a two or three hour Seder without your mother and father getting the virus, and it is lethal.”
He concluded, “Since we love our grandma and grandpa, we’re going to do the Pesach Seder from far away.”
