As rockets and missiles rained down on southern Israel over the weekend, Purim parties were relocated or called off as families spent much of the holiday in safe rooms and bomb shelters. For families eager to celebrate one of Judaisms most festive holidays, a sudden burst of hot and sunny weather only made the situation tougher. It is sad that all of our plans for the weekend with our kids in this beautiful weather had to be cancelled, said Rachel Elmakias, a resident of Sderot and a mother of three. For several Israelis, the parties went on, just underground. Liat Ben-Zaken celebrated her 29th birthday over the weekend, with 25 friends attending in costume, in a small bomb shelter. After we heard the second siren, we went back to dancing. I guess its just a defense mechanism for many people who live in this area. It was really weird, said Hanan Gerson, one of Ben-Zakens friends and party guests. On the one hand, we were celebrating Purim and a birthday; on the other hand, you see everyone stuffed into a bomb shelter singing Happy Birthday. Ben-Zaken summarized her birthday saying, It was a wonderful, fun party. The rockets didnt ruin our party completely. Twenty-five people came and everyone was dressed up. There was music and non-stop dancing, even during the sirens. It is sort of routine for us. Despite it all, people are out hiking The Homefront Command has banned any gatherings with more than 500 people in any location within 40 km (25 miles) from Gaza, prompting the cancellation of a number of events. Despite this, however, many residents of central Israel headed south to hike in the beautiful weather. We came to the south despite the cancelled events, said Rachel and Nir Avidan from Ramat Gan. They were visiting close family in Netiv Haasarah, just minutes from the Gaza border. The weather was spectacular, but spirits were low. That is why we decided to stay and hike in the area: to encourage the residents, Nir said. On the way, we saw dozens of other families who came despite it all. We are not sorry we came. It is important to show solidarity with the residents here. In light of the canceled events, many hikers went even farther south than originally planned. Many people attended the Purim parade in Sde Boker, which went on as planned because Sde Boker is far enough from the Gaza border to be considered safe.
Purim in the bomb shelter
Large Purim events canceled in the south or moved to secure spaces • But the rockets did not beat the beautiful weather: We came to the south despite the canceled events ... The weather was spectacular, but spirits were low.
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