Passover for the Zakai family

ON FRIDAY NIGHT, April 19, as Jews around the world gathered at the seder table to celebrate Passover, the Zakai family guarded and fed 200 sheep in a Negev farm, enabling local farmers to spend the seder at home with their families.

The Zakai family of Emek Beit She’an in northern Israel participated in an initiative developed by HaShomer HaChadash, an organization established 12 years ago in order to help farmers and ranchers combat agricultural crime. 

Israeli farmers have endured devastating attacks on their fields, herds, and equipment. The night of the seder, when farmers and their families are occupied with the holiday traditions, is often an opportunity for thieves to attack.

Upon their arrival to the farm, the 18 Zakai family members met the farmer and learned how to graze and feed the sheep. They prepared an outdoor seder table and read from the Haggadah while taking shifts patrolling the farm.

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In the last year, HaShomer HaChadash has engaged over 72,000 volunteers to guard 250,000 acres of land at over 250 sites throughout the Negev and Galilee. Visit eng.hashomer.org.il.