By Naomi Ammon

In normal times, Israelis always prepare festive foods for the Jewish holidays. It is a way of life. Every Friday, shops are lined with mothers collecting groceries for the traditional Shabbat family dinner. At Rosh Hashana, Jews celebrate with apples and honey. Latkes and sufganiyot (donuts) at Hanukkah. “Haman’s ears” pastries at Purim, and cheesecake at Shavuot. But the biggest festival of all is Passover, when Jewish families gather around the Seder table to celebrate their deliverance from bondage in Egypt.

Every year at Passover, the ICEJ has helped hundreds of needy Jewish families celebrate this important holiday by providing essential items for a proper Pesach Seder meal. Unfortunately, around two million Israelis – almost a quarter of the population – including approximately 880,000 children, live below the poverty line, so the needs are great.

This sad reality has only gotten worse due to the harsh economic impact of the last two years of war. Many Israelis were called to army reserve duty, and some have lost their jobs or been forced to close their businesses.

These financial struggles are only growing amid the intense escalation with Iran at present, which is expected to go on well after Passover. Most companies, shops and restaurants have been ordered to close these past three weeks, and the entire country is constantly under threat from missile and drone attacks by Iran and Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Despite all these hardships, Jewish families in Israel will still observe Passover beginning on the evening of Wednesday, April 1. The ICEJ will be there once again to help as many needy Israeli families as possible to partake in a proper Seder meal. We will meet their most pressing needs with supermarket gift cards, enabling each family to provide what they still lack for the Seder table. And with your help, we can assist even more Israeli families!

Even with rocket sirens blaring across the country numerous times every day, the ICEJ AID team already has been travelling the roads to personally deliver hundreds of gift vouchers to communities in Jerusalem, Ma’ale Adumim, Ashdod, Mateh Yehuda, Netanya, and elsewhere. Despite the risks, we know how important the Pesach holiday is to the Jewish people and how it always reminds them that the Lord God was and is their mighty Deliverer.

This Passover, as our Jewish friends mark the Exodus from Egypt amid their current difficult circumstances, you can comfort and care for Jewish families in a most meaningful way. Give your best donation today so more Israeli families can keep the cherished Passover Seder tradition.

Please direct your giving to our Future and Hope Fund. Donate today at: help.icej.org/future-hope