For Many Israelis This Passover, Celebrating the Festival of Freedom Feels Impossible

The Fellowship  |  April 24, 2024

This year’s Passover is looking very different as the Jewish people mourn those lost by the brutal Hamas attack on October 7. Many were missed at the seder table this year. But support is available, and The Fellowship is doing all we can to help those who need it, reports JTA:

This year, Noam Safir and her family will order takeout for the Passover seder because her mother Moshit has no energy to cook a festive meal, as she has done in past years.

Moshit is the daughter of the oldest Israeli hostage held by Hamas — Shlomo Mansour, 86.

“It’s going to be less of a celebration and more of marking the holiday,” Safir, 20, told reporters in a video call this week…

Among the organizations in Israel that are hoping to alleviate the challenges posed by Passover for evacuees is Colel Chabad, which has more than 25,000 people registered for its communal seders all over the country. Another is the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which is distributing close to 19,000 debit cards amounting to a total of more than NIS 18 million  ($4.8 million) for evacuated families to use towards purchasing food items for the holiday.

“’All who are hungry, come and eat’ is something recited at every Passover seder around the world,” IFCJ President Yael Eckstein told JTA. “With so many evacuees not in their own homes, and so many suffering from loss or the unknown fate of their loved ones, this will be a Passover like none Israel has ever experienced before. Our commitment is to continue to help feed and provide for those who need it, how and where they need it.”