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Rakhi Israni draws on India's Partition in California bid
She said that her grandparents’ refugee experience shaped her worldview.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Mon, 06, Apr 2026
- 00:28 EDT
- 29
Rakhi Israni and representative image of post-partition migration / Rice University and Wikimedia commons
U.S. congressional candidate Rakhi Israni, extending Passover wishes to Jewish communities, said the holiday’s story is deeply personal and mirrors her family’s refugee journey after the Partition of India, when they moved from Pakistan to India.
Israni, who is running for California’s 14th Congressional District, said she shares a refugee experience similar to that of the Jewish community at the center of Passover.
Passover, also known as Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday observed from April 1 to April 9 this year. It commemorates the ancient Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt and their exodus to freedom.
ALSO READ: Rakhi Israni endorsed by Milpitas Economic Development Chair
It is marked by the Seder meal, the eating of unleavened bread, and the retelling of how God “passed over” the homes of the Israelites during the final plague.
Israni said, “This week, Jewish families around the world are observing Passover, a holiday that reminds us of one of the oldest refugee stories in history. It’s the story of people forced to flee their homes and carry what little they could, searching for safety, holding on to hope that somewhere ahead, there would be freedom.”
Noting the parallels with her own family, she said, “For me, that story isn’t just ancient history, it’s my family’s history as well. As India won its independence, the country was also partitioned in two, and my grandparents found themselves on the shores of Mumbai.”
Israni said her grandparents slept on a ship platform for weeks, surrounded by other displaced families. She highlighted the common thread connecting refugee experiences — hope — adding that her grandparents believed they would “eventually find relatives, rebuild their lives, and begin again.”
This Passover week, as families gather to retell ancient stories of freedom and resilience, I'm reminded that the refugee story isn't just history—it represents my family’s story as well, and it shapes why I'm running to represent CA-14.#Passover2026 #CA14 #RefugeeStories… pic.twitter.com/XUgvH6NeZv
— Rakhi for Congress (@RakhiIsraniCA) April 5, 2026
She said her worldview was shaped by these stories. “Just as the Passover story shapes the worldview of many of my Jewish friends, my family’s story has shaped the way I see the world today.”
She added, “Because when you grow up hearing stories like that, you learn to look beyond the statistics and the headlines and see the countless families whose lives are forever disrupted.”
“That’s why leadership matters, and why empathy matters,” she said.
An educator, attorney and mother of four, Israni is running for U.S. Congress on issues including cost of living, education and governance in California. She has framed her candidacy around what she described as a “moment of responsibility in public life.”
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