Under a barrage of hundreds of rockets launched from Gaza in the past two days, many Israeli schools and businesses are closed. And so are wedding halls in the range of fire.
But no Israeli can bear the thought of a ruined wedding. Owners of event spaces in other parts of Israel are opening their hearts and halls to couples from the South.
On Tuesday, a bride and groom invited any couple in distress to come and share their wedding at the Tel-Ya banquet hall in Tel Yitzhak near Netanya that night.
“Come with your rabbi and your guests, and we will make two weddings together!” they posted on social media. “We will show the world we are always strong and united!”
Tel-Ya owner Eitan Sapir told reporters that he would pick up all the extra costs to “help those who are facing the terror even on their happiest day.”
Another southern bride appealed to fellow Israelis on a radio show to help her find a safer venue for her wedding. A listener contacted the owner of a banquet hall north of Tel Aviv, who stepped in and saved the day.
And when Israeli Eurovision star Netta Barzilai saw a TV news report about a couple drastically scaling back their wedding in Beersheva due to the danger, she spontaneously came and sang “Toy” for them and their guests.
“I couldn’t stay indifferent. . . And I just got up off the couch and said, ‘It will surely be very special here. And it will surely be fun. And I simply got my team and traveled here to make this amazing couple happy,” Barzilai explained.