海角大神

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鈥� 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.

鈥淗ow can people celebrate a holiday of freedom?鈥� 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. 鈥淲e are still being held hostage, every one of us in our own way.鈥�

The circumstances made the evening听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.

A Seder marked by absence

Both groups were represented among the 500 members of Kibbutz Be鈥檈ri who held their Seder in a giant tent in Hostages Square, which has been transformed into a memorial to the hostages and the epicenter of hostage family activities and protests.

One hundred members of the tightly knit kibbutz were killed during the Hamas fighters鈥� brutal rampage, and others were kidnapped.

Men and women carried bunches of yellow daffodils, carnations, and sunflowers, passing them out to visitors and placing them on the array of circular banquet tables that filled the tent. A Passover-themed color representing joy, yellow is now synonymous in Israel with hostages; on Monday evening, the flowers represented hope for their release.

鈥淭his is a statement that we are fighting to be ourselves and continue our traditions and our lives, even with the big loss of our people,鈥� said Noam Yitshaky, a Be鈥檈ri kibbutz member, shortly before the Seder.

鈥淲e are balancing these two messages: We can鈥檛 go on with our lives, but at the same time we are fighting to survive.鈥�

Several of the hostages who returned to Israel in November took part, but it was a Seder听marked by absence 鈥� the absence of听 husbands, wives, and friends killed; of parents and children missing; of homes burned to the ground.

Of the 17 Kibbutz Be鈥檈ri members still held in Gaza, only 11 are believed to still be alive.

This year, the kibbutz added an additional query to the four questions normally sung by the youngest member of the family at the beginning of the Seder听to spark discussion of Passover鈥檚 importance.

The fifth question: 鈥淲hy are our loved ones not sitting at the table with us?鈥�

Food, people, blessings 鈥� but no holiday

At moments during the听ceremony, participants turned to a large video screen that showed film shot at previous Seders, featuring Be鈥檈ri residents 鈥� now dead or missing 鈥� singing and reading.

They gathered as Israel鈥檚 war in Gaza, which has killed an estimated 34,000 Palestinians and sparked a famine, has shifted media attention away from the suffering of Israeli families. Talks in search of a cease-fire and hostage release have ground into stagnation. Trust in the Israeli government, which many here believe has become indifferent to their plight, is low.

Outside the Be鈥檈ri communal Seder听tent, as sunset neared, hundreds of Israelis gathered in solidarity, setting up plastic tables laden with food, or laying out picnic blankets.

Some were relatives of hostages and the deceased; others were Israelis who felt that the only way they could mark Passover was by honoring the hostages. Some bystanders simply stood and wept.

With more than 100 hostages still in Hamas鈥� hands, and little news of whether they are alive or dead, these families 鈥� and a nation 鈥� are held captive by Oct. 7.

鈥淲hat freedom? What liberation? Every one of us is being held captive by Hamas,鈥� one woman lamented. 鈥淲e might as well still be slaves in Egypt. We feel that helpless. This is why all of Israel needs to be together at this moment.鈥�

鈥淭here is food, there are people gathered, but this is no holiday,鈥� said Doron Zexer, host father for American Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, still held by Hamas. 鈥淭his is a meal, but it is not a celebration.鈥�

At the end of the Seder, as guests poured their fifth and final cup, hostage families and strangers recited a prayer in unison.

May it be
That within every hostage
All tongues of redemption will be found
I will bring you out 鈥� I will deliver you 鈥� I will redeem you 鈥� I will take you 鈥� I will bring you unto the land
And they will all be able to return to the embrace of their families, safe and sound,
And we will be able to welcome them with incomparable joy
Soon in our day.

鈥淭ogether,鈥� said Ms. Yitshaky, 鈥渨e will keep each other strong until that day comes.鈥�