Title: Israelis Prepare to Mark Passover Amid Hostage Crisis in Gaza
Many Israelis were in a somber mood on Monday as they prepared to usher in Passover, the Jewish festival of freedom, saying they would mark the holiday rather than celebrate it, with more than 130 hostages remaining in Gaza.
The number of hostages believed to be alive is unclear, and with negotiations with Hamas captors at an impasse, there is little prospect of their imminent release.
The holiday is to start after sundown on Monday with the traditional Seder meal. By tradition, this is a joyful gathering of family and friends who follow a ritual order of blessings over symbolic foods as they retell the biblical story of the bondage and suffering of the ancient Israelites in Egypt and their exodus and liberation.
Israelis are still jittery after an exchange of fire with Iran this month, the first time Tehran had directly attacked Israel from Iranian territory. And the country continues to mourn the roughly 1,200 people the Israeli authorities say were killed in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, which prompted six months of deadly fighting in Gaza so far. More than 250 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s ground invasion in late October, the military says. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza health officials.
Daily tit-for-tat attacks over the northern border with Lebanon have turned a portion of Israel into a no-go zone. Tens of thousands of residents of northern and southern Israel remain in temporary accommodations, having been evacuated from their homes.
“We will mark the Seder night for the children,” said Irit Feingold, 35, a pedagogic instructor for preschoolers who was attending a rally for the hostages in Jerusalem on Saturday night, and was planning to spend Monday night with about 25 members of her extended family.
“Many families like Ms. Feingold’s have been holding emotionally charged conversations about how to commemorate the holiday, with some saying they preferred not to conduct a Seder at all.
The organization representing most of the families of the hostages is urging families to place an empty chair at their table with a portrait of a hostage or a yellow ribbon. Traditionally, Jews leave an empty chair at the Seder for Elijah, the biblical prophet revered as the harbinger of hope and redemption.
“Hundreds of survivors from Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the border villages that was attacked on Oct. 7, were planning to hold a communal Seder in a Tel Aviv square that has become a focal point for the campaign to free the hostages.
Rabbi Binyamin Lau said he intended to sit at the Seder table with his family, an empty chair with a picture of his friend Alex Dancyg, a Holocaust expert from Nir Oz who remains a hostage, and a fruit salad.
“We are a people that tells a story at any time, under any conditions,” Rabbi Lau said.
The mood in Israel as Passover approaches is one of reflection and remembrance, as the country grapples with the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza. Despite the somber atmosphere, Israelis are finding ways to honor the holiday and show solidarity with those affected by the conflict.
