The escalation in the south: the world of events was harnessed to help couples whose weddings were canceled

Yesterday morning (Tuesday), with the publication of the news about the start of the "Shield and Arrow" operation in Gaza, Elkana Riklin, a student at the Hebrew University, decided to get married for the residents of the south who were supposed to get married last night, with the official opening of the wedding season, but due to the directives of the Home Front Command – no could do so.

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"This morning I saw that people started looking for alternative wedding venues," he says, "I decided to set up a WhatsApp group to help them. I have nothing to do with organizing events, I just decided to help. I opened the group 'Finding a venue', I posted it on Facebook, many influential figures Help us spread the word. We put a Google Drive file in the group where people enter details, and we match one with the other. I do this together with my partner, Tamar Tzhor, who is also a student. We try to match those who are looking for a place with the owners of the halls. I know that closed a hall in Gush Etzion, in Beit Shemesh. We do not control the closings, but rather provide the platform, publish the requests and try to bring order to the group. I thought of this initiative to do good. In days like these, when people are divided, doing a little good is an important thing. Such an idea simply inspires optimism In these days, when everything is fragmented and divided, it is beautiful to see that the people of Israel help each other."

Elkana Riklin (photo: courtesy of the photographer)

Riklin is not alone: a host of initiatives were born yesterday against the background of the opening of the operation, designed to allow couples who are getting married to continue their happiness. "On Tuesday, news began to flow about couples whose weddings were canceled," says Mikael Cohen, one of the members of "Team Falah", a group that was founded in memory of the late Major Bar Falah and helps, among other things, Holocaust survivors, in the field of domestic violence, in the distribution Food baskets and more. "We activated our group, we tried to understand who the couples were, where they were from, and then within the group we discovered that there was someone whose father owned an event hall in Tel Aviv. We found several other places around the country that could provide a solution. Naturally, the people of Israel are very generous in such situations. There are many People who help. We have opened a dedicated WhatsApp group, 'Aid for married couples covering Gaza/Felah team', and we are prepared in terms of personnel to help in whatever way possible: to recruit venues, suppliers or DJs. We live this immediate commitment. If, for example, in some A place that undertakes to hold an event from now on will lack waiters, we will come to help. We say 'we are here' and try to help couples."

A flood of phones

"From the moment we heard that people were forced to cancel weddings, we decided to open our hall of joy, which is normally intended for the residents of the settlement, and where bar mitzvahs, covenants, etc. are held – also for people from outside who need to get married and are looking for an alternative place because of the security situation," says Rivka Mayberg, secretary of the Netzer Hazani settlement . "We posted in our local groups and I received a flood of calls from people looking for a hall. People were looking for alternatives for both Wednesday and Thursday. We ourselves are also quite on the range, we also experienced alarms here at the time, but we offer our help. The hall itself is a relatively symbolic cost , just to cover cleaning, electricity, insurance, the basic things. I hope we reach a calm, but give the option."

Liat Lazar (photo: courtesy of the photographer)

"Since yesterday morning, the entire world of events has been harnessed to the situation," says Liat Lazar, an event producer. "Event gardens, all kinds of locations that I work with, contacted me and other producers to inform about available dates in the coming days. They said that they are ready to help those who are looking. We, the producers, connect the venues with the couples and also make sure that the couples get the dish at about the price they closed on the spot the previous one where the wedding was supposed to take place. We want to help the couples, we don't want to make them incur additional expenses. I put up a post on my Facebook that I am willing to help with joy and make this match free of charge of course. Several matches have already been made, and I am waiting for final confirmation that it was indeed done and correct. Everyone We join together to help, if it's hall owners, suppliers. That's what's beautiful about our country, that in the end with all the internal wars, in moments of crisis we still support each other, embrace and accommodate and join together to help as much as possible."

take the pressure off

Shiral Elbaz, the sister of Hadar Chaya Shetrit who was supposed to get married last night in a banquet hall in the south with her chosen one, Yedidya Grady, did everything so that the wedding of the two would indeed take place. "The owner of the hall in the south informed us on Tuesday morning that the event is canceled due to the directives of the Home Front Command," she says. "Of course we went through a lot of pressure and fear, the bride and groom didn't know anything, we tried to hide it from them. I wanted my sister to be calm. We set up a WhatsApp group, really HML, to find a solution. All friends, family members gathered. We called a lot of halls and at the same time we spread a message on social networks. I posted my phone number, lots of people came to us and tried to help with lots of offers. In the end, we closed the event hall, 'Noel'a in Sharon' yesterday. We really thank the owner of the place who came in our favor in terms of the price and also mobilized in our favor from moment to moment. It was wonderful for us. We made a lot of phone calls to the invitees, sent a lot of messages about the location change, and hoped that most would actually come. Coincidentally, I also got married during the war, in the 'Guardian of the Walls'. On days like this we see the people of Israel at their best, everyone mobilizes and helps."

Ido Xantini (photo: courtesy of the photographer)

"There are two halls in our complex, one of which was free on Tuesday," says Ido Xantini, the owner of "Noel'a" in Sharon. "I put up a post on Facebook and offered people to come get married. We were connected to this couple, we helped them at very low prices because of the current situation. We also arranged for them to have a very special kosher from Rabbi Mahfoud. The couple had 300 guests. Because they were very worried about whether people would come or not because of the situation, So we said that we would be ready for 150 to 300 guests in order to help as much as possible and reduce the pressure."

How did you organize in such a short time?
"I can also prepare for up to 700 people. We are a production kitchen, we make all the food on site, it is a chef's kitchen. We have been in the field for many years, we have our own team that is ready when needed. We have invited workers, and everything is fine. By the way, those who get married here do not get divorced." .

"Since yesterday morning, we have received phone calls, inquiries, and we have proactively contacted dozens of couples and parents of couples who are left lost because of the situation," says Hadar Greenberg, CEO and owner of Iziwood – a wedding organization. Between couples and banquet halls. There is a huge mobilization of people in favor of the cause. We managed to move four couples from the south to halls in the center and in Sharon. We do this, of course, without any compensation, just to help. We receive thanks and praise from the couples and families for putting them at ease. It warms the heart".