The Lieberman Open Orthodox Haggadah, which contains essays and commentary by several figures in the eponymous liberal wing of Orthodox Judaism, attempts to do more than present a new version of the Passover liturgy. Rather, writes Alan Brill, it aims self-consciously to set “an agenda for the future of Orthodoxy”:

Willy-nilly, one finds oneself reading about the problem of women unable to obtain halakhic divorces while everyone is singing Dayenu and about the rapid downfall of a local rabbi who violated everyone’s trust while everyone is singing Ḥad Gadya. For many, these juxtapositions will be their first impression of this Haggadah. . . .

There is no significant use of historical context, [academic Jewish studies], or source criticism. The volume is not aimed at those who seek an intellectual discussion. Its audience is not seeking aesthetics or [a synthesis of Torah and secular thought]. In addition, there is focus neither on the Holocaust nor on the state of Israel. . . . [This Haggadah] was not written for intellectual or spiritual edification, or for those who want to hear about how God took us out from Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm.

In short, this Haggadah oozes moxie and a direct appeal to those who like the Orthodox lifestyle but find a tension with what they perceive as the abuses of the system. For them, they do not need reasons for the commandments, rather an active commitment, determination, and ability to overcome their social concerns. All who are hungry for this moxie, let them come and eat.

Two extraordinary events demonstrate something important about Israel’s most fervent adversaries. One was a speech given at something called The People’s Forum (funded generously by Goldman Sachs), which stated, “When the state of Israel is finally destroyed and erased from history, that will be the single most important blow we can give to destroying capitalism and imperialism.”

The suggestion that this tiny state is the linchpin of a global, centuries-old phenomenon like capitalism goes well beyond anything resembling rational criticism. Even if Israel were guilty of genocide, apartheid, and oppression—which of course it is not—it would not follow that its destruction would help end capitalism or imperialism.

The other was an anti-Israel protest that took place in front of New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, deemed “complicit” in Israel’s evils. At organizers’ urging, participants shouted their slogans at kids in the cancer ward, who were watching from the windows. Given Hamas’s indifference toward the lives of Gazan children, such callousness toward non-Palestinian children from Hamas’s Western allies shouldn’t be surprising. The protest—like the abovementioned speech—deliberately conveyed the message that Israel is the ultimate evil and its destruction the ultimate good, cancer patients be damned.

The fact that Israel’s adversaries are almost comically perverse does not mean that they can be dismissed. If its allies fail to understand the obsessive and irrational hatred that it faces, they cannot effectively help it defend itself.