On Reserve Duty in Hebron, He Was Told: Your Wedding Is Canceled

A Border Police reservist, MSgt. Idan Saadon, received notice that his wedding was canceled by the Ahuzat David event hall in the Gilboa while he was on an operation in the Hebron sector. Saadon, a resident of Afula who has served close to 400 days of reserve duty since the war began, planned to marry his partner Mashi on August 6. Although the agreement was signed shortly after their engagement at the Western Wall last September, the hall announced a unilateral cancellation of the event due to a "human error" in recording the dates.

Planning a Wedding From the Front Lines

For Idan, planning the wedding was a complex logistical mission. "We’re not a typical couple," he told ynet. "I’m in reserve duty, she’s in school, and at the same time I run my own business. It’s like three jobs at once. We locked everything in quickly so there wouldn’t be surprises, to get it all done before I’m called up again."

About two weeks ago, in the middle of an operation in Hebron, came the surprise. A representative from the hall reached out and suggested moving the date. When Idan and Mashi refused, a letter from an attorney arrived, announcing cancellation of the event due to a "booking error."

"I’m in the field, helmet on my head, and I have to call my fiancée and tell her we don’t have a wedding," Idan said. "Suddenly they brought lawyers into it. I couldn’t believe they’d just throw us out like that."

A Costly, Heartbreaking Mix-Up

According to Idan, the hall offered to move the wedding from the coveted Thursday to Wednesday in exchange for a 30% discount. But changing the date would mean canceling vendors they’d already booked, canceling the henna party, and a heavy financial hit. "I suggested that if we compromise on everything and absorb the damage, we wouldn’t pay for the hall itself. They refused and simply canceled unilaterally. They said ‘we made a mistake,’ but we’re the ones paying the price. They didn’t care what situation I was in. It breaks our hearts."

Venue Responds: A Good-Faith Human Error

The hall’s management responded that it was a typing error in the calendar caused by unusual workload and working conditions during the war. They say the date had been reserved for another client before Saadon made contact: "Ahuzat David acted in good faith, professionally, and with full transparency toward Mr. Saadon. A typing error occurred in the manor’s calendar, which led to the date being reserved for another client prior to Mr. Saadon’s booking. The error in reserving the event date resulted from an innocent human mistake, against the backdrop of exceptional workload and irregular working conditions given the security situation and the war in the country, and therefore this does not constitute deliberate conduct or bad faith on the part of the manor."

"Immediately upon discovering the error, the manor acted with full transparency and reached out to Mashi Saadon, four months before the wedding date of August 6, and offered reasonable alternatives close to the original date. The manor offered August 4, August 10, and August 19. A significant discount of 30% and additional benefits were also offered to Mr. Saadon. Mr. Saadon agreed to the alternative date that was offered to him, but asked to hold the event at no cost with a full upgrade. His request deviates from any standard of reasonableness and constitutes an attempt to exploit the situation. The manor acted professionally and in good faith. The refusal of the offers was made in bad faith and by exploiting the situation, and therefore the manor has the right to cancel the agreement lawfully. Above and beyond the letter of the law and in order to resolve the dispute, the manor has terminated the engagement and intends to immediately return the deposit that was paid."