A move by the Disney Channel in a recent public service announcement (PSA) to replace “Jerusalem” with the “Holy Land” has been met with indignation by Jewish groups and on social media, with posters looking for answers from the entertainment corporation.
In the PSA, which ran last week on the Disney Channel, young teens talking about Passover all say in unison “Next year in the Holy Land.”
“Next year in Jerusalem” is a traditional saying that closes the seder – a wish for all Jews to return to their homeland, just as they did after leaving bondage in Egypt.
Jewish groups are calling for an explanation, charging that the change is at the very least inaccurate, if not offensive.
Twitter user Barney O. called the move a “twisting of the Haggadah.”
Baby’s Bubbe tweeted, “Said no one ever.... Shame on Disney. Passover is not part of their heritage and they have no business trying to alter ours.”
B’nai Brith tweeted a call for the Disney Channel to “accurately depict this sacred Jewish custom related to our holiest city.”
“We are deeply dismayed that #disneychannel is running #Passover PSAs that replace the traditional refrain 'Next year in Jerusalem' with 'Next year in the Holy Land.' This is a deliberate negation of Jerusalem as the eternal Jewish capital,” they tweeted.
Arnold Roth, founder of the Malki Foundation, expressed an outrage shared by many Jews on Twitter.
Roth tweeted, "Jewish families at the Passover seder table have sung 'Leshana haba b'Yerushalayim' ('Next year in Jerusalem') for generations. The bizarre effort to delete the prayer's physical focus reflects a deplorable lack of insight. Perhaps also of respect.”
“Next year in Jerusalem” dates back to at least the 15th Century when it was written down by Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau in a book describing the various religious traditions of Ashkenazi communities.