Vijay Pallod, a board member of the Hindus of Greater Houston, poses beside Israel’s Consul General to the Southwest Livia Link-Raviv, at the afternoon seder
By Eric Killalea
HOUSTON: The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston sponsored a Passover Seder on Wednesday at Congregation Emanu El, welcoming hundreds of clergy, politicians, university professors and business leaders from across the metro to celebrate the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago.
To Jews, the holiday symbolizes freedom and the birth of a Jewish nation. But this year, for many Jews and allies, it’s also a time to reflect on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the rise of anti-Semitic incidents in Texas and across the U.S.
“While we are so excited to be in partnership with all of you, we also have to reflect on the fact that this is a particularly difficult and challenging time for our Jewish community,” Federation President and CEO Renée Wizig-Barrios told the audience as they sat at round tables featuring the symbolic meal of gefilte fish bites with carrots, matzo ball soup and savory matzo brei with spinach. “We need you, our allies, more than ever.”
With security at the synagogue’s doors, Wizig-Barrios noted that the Federation and Jewish residents citywide have recently been threatened with vandalism and violence. “These recent acts of hate are deeply unsettling, however, we as a Jewish community will not live in fear,” she said. “We are one that celebrates diversity and is committed to stand hand-in-hand with all of you, our friends and neighbors.”
The crowd included some of Houston’s elite: Rabbi Oren Hayon of Congregation Emanu El, Council Member Abbie Kamin, who is Jewish, Shariq Abdul Ghani, the Muslim executive director of the Minaret Foundation and Christian Menefee, the Harris County attorney who is now running for the empty U.S. House seat of the late Representative Sylvester Turner.
The guest list also named Vijay Pallod, a board member of the Hindus of Greater Houston, who has made efforts to build a relationship between the estimated 65,000 Jews and 150,000 Hindus now living in the Houston area.
Pallod appeared at the Seder after the nonprofit’s board members voted to make an undisclosed financial donation last month to the Federation’s Israel Emergency Fund dedicated to providing food, housing, and medical care to families overseas after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. The Federation, in partnership with the Houston Jewish Community Foundation, has already raised more than $15.4 million for such efforts.
During an interview Tuesday, Pallod recalled attending prayer meetings after the attacks at local synagogues (including Congregation Beth Yeshurun) and pledging financial assistance to the Federation when needed. “This happened spontaneously,” Pallod said of the charitable support. “But we thought that it was the right time to come forward, not only with words, but to contribute money to help them.”
In an era of protests against the Hamas attacks and also Israel’s responsive airstrikes in Gaza, the Federation and Houston’s Jewish community at large have garnered support from Mayor John Whitmire and Texas lawmakers. Meanwhile, some of the Houston metro’s 500,000 Muslims have accused politicians of favoring his Jewish constituents over Muslims while various factions of pro-Palestine demonstrators have held protests in front of the mayor’s home.
Several Hindu leaders have told Chron that many Indian Americans in Houston are turning to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for guidance on how to approach the religious and political aspects of the Israel-Hamas War.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and the families,” former Hindus of Greater Houston president Thara Narasimhan said after the 2023 attacks, according to the Indo American News based in Houston. “We stand in solidarity with Israel during the difficult hour, after thousands of rockets from Gaza strip slammed into south and central Israel.”
Pallod was diplomatic in his effort to describe why the Hindu nonprofit donated funds to the Federation’s Israel Emergency Fund. He noted that he’s also an adviser to the Indian Muslim Association of Greater Houston and works with other interfaith groups.
“We don’t really have any ties with Israel directly; we are based in Houston only,” Pallod said, referring to Hindus of Greater Houston. “Some people take it totally the wrong way. We’re not anti-Palestine. We’re focused on helping people in Houston.”
At first glance, the minority groups of Hindus and Jews in Houston might seem to have little in common. But living in one of the most multicultural cities in the country, the groups actually have a long-running bond dating back decades.
“For communities who don’t seem to have commonalities or connection, we have been able to find deep similarities in our values that contribute to bringing us together,” Federation spokesperson Erica Winsor told Chron at the seder Wednesday. She listed “education, family and work ethic” among such parallels in the distinct faiths and cultures.
The Jewish community, Pallod said, “has been open to helping us.”
Amid a rapid increase in Indian migration to Houston in the 1970s, Hindu leaders organized gatherings to celebrate Diwali, Navratri and other festivals at synagogues before they established their own Hindu places of worship like the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, Pallod said.
Additionally, the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp, founded in 1985, had been held at the Jewish Community Center’s Ida Gordon Campsite in the Richmond suburb. A 37-acre, $6 million campsite opened in the summer of 2024 in Columbus, along the Colorado River, west of Houston.
Passover, which begins this year on the evening of Saturday, April 12, is one of the most important holidays for Jews in Houston and across the world. Just days before the sacred holiday, Rabbi Hayon and others read from the Jewish text called the Haggadah to provide the script for the meal and welcomed guests to eat an added lunch of pastrami style brisket, potato kugel, green beans with mushrooms, roasted Moroccan beet salad, quinoa salad and mousse cups.
During the Seder, Pallod and others at the event joined Jewish leaders in reciting “four promises” about their obligations as people of faith to combat bigotry and violence and to create friendships. One promise read, “We will encourage ourselves and others to welcome the stranger, so that our communities reflect the wide diversity of our world.” — The Houston Chronicle