A Congressional Passover Seder held Tuesday evening March 24 placed the spotlight on the Sarajevo Haggadah, a centuries-old Passover text widely viewed as a symbol of interfaith cooperation and moral courage, as lawmakers and international guests gathered on Capitol Hill.
The event, held in the historic Cannon Caucus Room, brought together a bipartisan group of members of Congress, including: Josh Gottheimer, Brad Schneider, Nancy Mace, Tim Kennedy.
Organizers and speakers emphasized the significance of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a 14th-century illuminated manuscript created in Spain that survived the expulsions of Sephardic Jews, centuries of migration and multiple conflicts, including World War II.
During the Nazi occupation of Bosnia, the manuscript was saved from destruction by Bosnian Muslims, most notably Derviš Korkut, who risked his life to conceal the text rather than allow it to be seized or destroyed.
Its preservation has since been widely cited as a powerful example of interfaith solidarity during one of history’s darkest periods.
Speakers at the event said that act of preservation elevated the Haggadah beyond a religious artifact, describing it as a symbol of shared humanity and moral responsibility across faiths. They noted that the manuscript’s survival—again through the Bosnian war of the 1990s—underscored its enduring legacy as a cultural and historical bridge.
The evening opened with a reception and remarks before transitioning into a Seder led by Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yehoshua, Chairman of the Bukharian Rabbinical Council. During the Seder, the traditional 4 Passover questions were posed by Rabbi Yonothan Yehoshua, the dean of Yeshiva Ohr David in Jerusalem and ambassadors from South Sudan and Grenada. Somaliland's representative to the United States was also in attendance and was warmly received by Ezra Friedlander.
The evening also included remarks from international figures, including Denis Bećirović, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Foreign Minister H.E. Elmedin Konaković, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel J. Lawton; State Department Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Ellen Germain, Muath Alamri, CEO of the Muslim World League in the US and UK, Bosnian Ambassador H.E. Sven Alkalaj.
Victoria Whipple, who emceed the program, highlighted the Haggadah’s survival as a defining example of interfaith cooperation, noting that a librarian of the Muslim faith preserved it during the Holocaust, heroically protecting a cornerstone of Jewish heritage at great personal risk.
The evening also included the presentation of the Sarajevo Haggadah to Muslim World League Secretary General Mohammed al-Issa for his extraordinary commitment to interfaith dialogue and cooperation which was preceded by remarks by Washington, DC based Kesher Israel rabbi, Hyim Shafner.
Government relations specialist, Ezra Friedlander who also founded Project Legacy that organized the event, said the tribute aimed to "underscore themes of remembrance, tolerance and shared responsibility ahead of the Passover holiday, using the Sarajevo Haggadah as a central example of how acts of courage across faith lines can preserve history and inspire future generations."
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By Pinchus ben Tzvi
Jews And Muslims Headline Congressional Passover Seder Spotlighting Sarajevo Haggadah
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