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CLOCKWISE: Eli Levy and his Israeli cousins during Passover 2023. Eli and more Israeli cousins, Passover 2023. Eli enjoying baked unleavened 
bread. During the Levy’s seder, the kids wear plague masks. The Vered family: From left to right, Aviv, Neiv, behind her, son Noam, Dana, and 
daughter, Sivan. Simon and Eli Levy in Israel for Passover 2022.

hostage topics everywhere. Maybe here we 
forgot, but over there, no, nobody forgot it,
” 
Vered says.
Passover can’t come soon enough for Levy, 
a Detroit resident who describes feeling 
cut off from relatives because they haven’t 
been able to enjoy holidays and birthdays 
together for what feels like an eternity. That 
will change when they celebrate her daugh-
ter Eden’s first birthday, which falls during 
Passover. 
Levy’s husband, Shimon, is an Israeli with 
an extensive history of IDF service. His first 
calls on Oct. 7 were to family. After connect-
ing with them, he immediately phoned his 
commander. On Oct. 8, he was on a flight to 
Israel, headed to serve his country once again. 
For the next six weeks, his role was to 
coordinate the distribution of supplies and 
materials donated to the IDF. He returned in 

January for several more weeks and will stay 
for additional service after Passover. 
“Israel is such a huge part of our lives and 
important for our children, too,
” says Levy 
about the country where the couple got mar-
ried and where they typically visit at least 
twice a year. Last Passover, Levy was weeks 
away from delivering their second child, so 
her husband and their then 2-year-old son Eli 
made the trip without her. 
She describes the family seder as a festive 
gathering, “with cousins of all different ages 
running around and having fun together in 
their cute new holiday outfits.
“It’s a beautiful family time with the food 
everybody looks forward to. His mother’s 
love language is food, so she makes the spe-
cial dishes everyone loves,
” says Levy, who 
is especially fond of her mother-in-law’s 
Moroccan cuisine.

Vered’s family is also Moroccan, and their 
seder is infused with Moroccan traditions 
and cuisine. Passover, he says, is his favorite 
holiday, for one, because his Hebrew birthday 
coincides with the first night of Passover. 
“There was always a reason for celebration, 
and there is something in the air that makes 
it more special, even with all the cleaning and 
preparation. It’s a true festivity,
” he says. 
These travelers also stated that going to 
Israel sends a strong message of support to 
the people of Israel. Levy sums it up best, 
saying: “I look forward to going there, going 
on with our lives and celebrating Passover, a 
story of Jewish resistance and survival. I don’t 
feel fear about being there, and I don’t feel 
fear about my children being there either. I 
think it’s very important for them to see that 
life goes on as normal, and Israel will survive 
this and come out stronger.
”