‘Out of captivity.’ When will Passover’s promise reach Gaza hostages?
Taylor Luck
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
Food, people, blessings—all the ingredients of Passover were present, but for families of hostages across Israel, this was no holiday.
At sundown Monday evening, as hundreds of Israelis sat down to the Jewish Passover ceremony, the Seder, in Hostages Square in downtown Tel Aviv, a digital clock loomed over them.
One hundred ninety-eight days, 11 hours, nine minutes, and three seconds, it read. The length of time that had elapsed since Hamas assailants seized more than 240 Israeli hostages Oct. 7, to hold them captive in Gaza.
Passover is a seven-day festival of liberation marking the Israelites’ delivery from captivity in Egypt, as recounted in Exodus. This year, Seders up and down Israel were dominated by thoughts for those still being held prisoner.
How can people celebrate a holiday of freedom?” wondered Daniel Lifshitz, whose 84-year-old grandfather Oded was kidnapped from his home and remains in Hamas captivity, as hopes for his survival fade. “We are still being held hostage, every one of us in our own way.”
The circumstances made the evening meal marking the start of Passover a ceremony of reflection, grief, and solidarity.
Israelis said they were divided into two camps: those who found it almost impossible to celebrate, and others who saw the holiday as a moment in which to look for hope.