by Lila Bricklin

Pope Francis sent a dramatic message to the world April 16 about the need to welcome refugees when he boarded three Syrian Muslim families – including six children who lost their houses to bombs – on his plane back to Rome following a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos that was emblematic of the core meaning of Passover, which Jews are celebrating this week.

Among the tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Greece by Europe’s closed borders – many facing deportation – the pontiff demonstrated that refugees be embraced, not shunned. The families were held in a massive fenced complex at the heart of a migrant route used by those fleeing the Syrian conflict. The gesture offered the most vivid illustration yet in the pope’s quest to prick Europe’s conscience over its treatment of refugees.

At seders (the Passover ritual and meal) last Friday night, Jews remembered when we were strangers. We recalled the Exodus from bondage when we fled the lash in the hopes of finding our way to the Promised Land. We remembered countless times in history when Jews were scapegoated and pushed away left wandering and vulnerable.

In a speech, the Pope said he said he understood that some governments and people are afraid, but that did not supplant their “responsibility of welcome.” He urged them to resist the temptation to build walls.

“We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and indeed desperate need, and respond in a way worthy of our common humanity, he said.”

Jews are taught to live the biblical injunction, “And a stranger you shall not oppress, for you know the heart of a stranger, seeing that you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9). We use our past as a moral compass.

This was not the first time the pope highlighted the plight of migrants. In 2013, he went to the Italian island of Lampedusa, to call attention to refugees who were arriving there from Libya – or drowning before they reached shore. During his February visit to Mexico, Francis prayed in Ciudad Juárez, just footsteps from the Mexican border with the United States, and celebrated Mass nearby, where he spoke about immigrants.

Jews retell the Passover story as a reminder to empathize with “the other,” so that we will not do to others that which was contemptuous to us. In the United States, at a time of unprecedented xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment, the House of Representative is considering a bill (H. R. 4731) that would slam the door on refugees seeking asylum here. We must remember that once we were proud to call ourselves a nation of immigrants.

In Israel, too, unfortunately, it’s common to encounter fear and loathing of “the other” with whom Jews share the land. Even in times of turmoil and insecurity, Jews must strive to empathize with their neighbors and treat them respectfully. We must commit ourselves to working together – Israelis and Palestinians – to realize a future of freedom, justice and peace. This week, especially, as Jews celebrate freedom from oppression, let us work toward loving the stranger – like the pope – treating all with dignity and equal protection.

Lila Bricklin is a Mt. Airy resident and longtime contributor to the Local.