The Jewish holiday of Passover begins Wednesday evening, but for some New Yorkers who were planning to travel to Israel, Seders are looking different this year.

Flights have been canceled following joint U.S.—Israel operations in Iran.

What You Need To Know

The Jewish holiday of Passover begins Wednesday evening

Flights to Israel have been canceled following joint U.S.—Israel operations in Iran

Gedalia Pasternak was supposed to go to Israel for Passover to visit his three sisters and his 91-year-old mother who live there

Hiram Shaish, who also planned to travel to Israel, said Seders within the country will also be affected because of the ongoing war

Gedalia Pasternak was supposed to go to Israel for Passover to visit his three sisters and his 91-year-old mother who live there.

He video-called his mom during his interview with NY1 and said, “This is the best way we can talk right now. And that’s not fun when the hope was that we were going to spend the holiday together.”

His mother, Goldie, said she was looking forward to spending the holiday with Pasternak’s son, Dov — her youngest grandson.

Pasternak said it is “Not safe to go and visit at the moment.”

“The reality is right now, they are living in a state of siege most of the time. Our family chat is just a string of there’s a siren. We’re going to a bomb shelter. There’s another siren,” he said. “How are we going to get through the holiday? How are we going to prep? It’s kind of hard. There aren’t a lot of recipes, cooking recipes that factor in running to a bomb shelter for 20 minutes.”

Pasternak’s family in Israel has spent a lot of time in bomb shelters over the past month. He said it is hard for the family to be apart for the Seder.

“When you’re with family for these things, there’s a certain amount of, like, ‘oh, this is how I grew up.’ And this is how I celebrated as a little kid. And you want to be able to share that with your kid,” he explained.

Hiram Shaish’s family was also supposed to be in Israel for the holiday. He said his kids were looking forward to spending time with their grandparents and cousins.

“What I told my kids was there’s only one thing more disappointing than not going to Israel for Pesach — is going to Israel and being in a bomb shelter for a week,” Shaish said. “It’s very disappointing. It’s like the best time to be there with family.”

Shaish said Seders within Israel will also be affected because of the ongoing war.

“The rules are you can’t really congregate. People are not allowed to congregate and depending on where you live, you know, you have to think about your exit strategy in case there’s a siren and whether there’s enough space,” he said.

The last words spoken at every Seder are, “L’shana haba b’yerushalayim,” which translates to “next year in Jerusalem,” a sentiment that carries more weight for those who were meant to be there this year.

“L’shana haba b’yerushalayim. Hopefully, there’ll be peace in our time,” Pasternak told NY1.