JERUSALEM (RNS) — Twenty of Anava Marcus’ relatives were scheduled to fly to Israel from Australia and South Africa last week to celebrate her bat mitzvah during Passover, which begins on Wednesday (April 1).
But instead, Anava will celebrate her 12th birthday — a Jewish milestone — with only her immediate family and some friends in central Israel, where they live, amid Israeli safety restrictions due to the war with Iran. Her relatives’ flights were all canceled.
“We had been planning the bat mitzvah for a year,” Dara Marcus, Anava’s mother, told RNS. “Anava was going to lead the Passover Seder for the entire family. We created a special Haggadah that tells the story of the Jewish people and our own family’s story. It includes Anava’s thoughts and commentaries.”
While Anava said she understands why relatives can’t be by her side on her big day, “I’m disappointed,” she admitted. “This was an opportunity for everyone in our family to be together for the first time in many years. All of my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins live abroad.”
The war, which began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, has upended life in Israel. Residents are running to bomb shelters multiple times a day. Homes have been damaged or destroyed, and in much of the country, schools are closed, and no more than 50 people are permitted to gather in any one location — including houses of worship — due to fears of a mass-casualty event.
Non-Israeli airlines have cancelled their flights to and from Israel, and the Israeli government has limited the number of passengers on o …
