Last minute! A slew of strangers helped a bride find a new wedding venue on the day of her wedding, vowing that rockets from Gaza will not intimidate the people of Israel.
By United with Israel Staff
Efrat Elhadad, who lives in Be’er Sheba, was married on Tuesday evening – but the day of the wedding was more stressful than she could have imagined.
Yet the ordeal had a happy ending, thanks to warm-hearted Israelis who stepped up to the plate.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the IDF eliminated Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata in a targeted killing in the northern Gaza Strip. The assassination was followed by hundreds of rockets from Gaza throughout the day that hit southern Israel and reached as far as Tel Aviv, in the center of the country.
Elhadad, who works for Radio Darom, a station in the south, was being interviewed that morning on the Kan Reshet Bet station and was told by the show’s hosts that due to the rocket fire, it was prohibited to have a gathering of more than 100 people in the south. In the Tel Aviv region as well, no more than 300 people could congregate in a closed space. She then began to cry, as the wedding venue was in the southern city of Ashkelon.
She posted on social media: “This morning is not easy… more and more alarms. I’ve been crying all morning.”
She wrote: “How excited I was about this day …. I planned to upload the happiest post!… A really tough morning … Full of tears … Hands shaking … Don’t know where it will be…”
‘Thank you Creator of the World! For Everything!’
She continued:
“Let’s hope for the best. And still … even though my eyes are red … Thank you Creator of the World! For everything!”
Journalist Kalman Libeskind of Kan Reshet Bet, speaking on air to the distraught bride, immediately offered to help find a venue where the Home Front Command had not placed restrictions on large gatherings, such as north of Tel Aviv or the Jerusalem area.
He announced the radio station’s number as well as his personal cell phone number so that people could reach him with suggestions for a new venue. The responses came instantly, and soon after it was reported that a new venue had been found.
Elhadad’s Facebook post was filled with comments from friends, saying they look forward to dancing and celebrating and that the people of Israel will not be intimidated by terrorists.
