■ ALTHOUGH President Isaac Herzog frequently tells participants at events at the President’s Residence that this is not his home, but the home of the people of Israel, it’s not quite true – other than during Sukkot. Throughout the year, only people with invitations to specific events and approved journalists are permitted to enter, as are groups whose leaders have supplied the names of all participants well in advance so that a list can be transferred to security personnel.
But on Sukkot, although there is a security check, there are no lists of names, and no personal invitations are required. Visitors – Jewish and non-Jewish – come from all over the country, as do tourists. When his father Chaim Herzog was president, he stood for hours in a huge sukkah to receive all the visitors and to pose for photos with them – especially their children.
Ever since Shimon Peres was president, however, that practice was abolished because staff thought it was too tiring for a man in his mid-eighties. His successor Reuven Rivlin, though slightly younger and more energetic, was also held back by his staff, though he mingled more than Peres.
Present incumbent Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, come out a few times and speak briefly to guests from a stage on the back lawn, then disappear back inside the building. In past years, the presidential sukkah was more agriculturally oriented, but under the present administration, technology has pushed agriculture way and truly to the side, though it may come back this year in solidarity with Israeli farmers who are having a hard time competing with imported agricultural products.
This year, in addition to the various booths, there will be a special wall for prayer in the hope that all those who say a prayer for the speedy return of the hostages will receive a positive response.
Things will be a little different this year altogether, with an emphasis on culture and sport. There will be a live museum of Israeli cinema and television, a library of Israeli literature, karaoke featuring Israeli songs, an exhibition match by Israel’s paralympic basketballers, theatrical and art experiences, circus clowns, and other attractions.
The presidential sukkah will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 12.
The overriding theme of the day will be the Spirit of Israel, designed to infuse patriotism beyond the battlefield. Visitors will also have the opportunity to mingle with actors in the guise of entertainment and cultural personalities who are no longer in the land of the living such as Shoshana Damari and Chaim Nachman Bialik, but there will also be live celebrities such as champion rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram, now retired.
Feast of Tabernacles
■ EVERY YEAR, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem brings thousands of pilgrims to Israel – mainly Jerusalem – to celebrate Sukkot, which it calls The Feast of Tabernacles. This year, possibly due to the ongoing war, the numbers have been depleted, but nonetheless, more than 1,500 Christians from over 70 countries are arriving to demonstrate their love for Israel.
According to ICEJ Senior Vice President and spokesman David Parsons, as far as is known, this will be the largest solidarity mission of any kind to come to Israel since the war began. Participants will include large delegations from Western countries that have been increasingly critical of Israel, including Norway, France, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
The five-day program includes a tour of the Gaza border area to witness first-hand how Israeli communities are working to recover from the October 7 terrorist invasion. There will also be a special remembrance ceremony at Sapir College to honor the 1,200 victims of Hamas who were murdered and the 251 who were taken hostage on October 7. The visitors will hear personal accounts from local community leaders about the tragic events on Simchat Torah, 2023. They will also visit key sites connected to the Hamas atrocities, including the Nova music festival site and the “car graveyard” near Tkuma.
The rest of the weeklong feast will be held in Jerusalem, including the popular Jerusalem March, which will take place in Sacher Park this year, and not along the previous route, much of which is under light rail construction.
In addition, there will be a special solidarity evening featuring the president, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka, as the seven nations that have opened embassies in Jerusalem will be honored: the United States, Guatemala, Paraguay, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji.
“We are proud to be hosting at our feast gathering the largest solidarity mission to Israel since the war began two years ago,” said ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler. “These Christian pilgrims are coming here from all over the world to deliver in person a message of their unwavering support for Israel, especially at a time when global antisemitism is surging.
“We are especially excited about the large delegations coming from countries that have sadly turned against Israel in recent months, including from Norway, France, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland.”
The Storytellers' Festival
■ THE STORYTELLERS’ Festival, an annual Sukkot treat hosted by author, poet, actor, director, singer, and radio and television anchor Yossi Alfi, begins tomorrow night, October 4, at the Givatayim Theater, which he was instrumental in establishing more than three decades ago. This year, it will be particularly important because Alfi is celebrating his 80th birthday. He knows the year and season in which he was born in Basra, Iraq, but not the actual date.
So the celebration of his birthday, coupled with the publication of his new book of poems Hayiti Kulam (I was all of them) is an ongoing affair that began at Tzavta in Tel Aviv on the last Friday in August when members of his family were present together with many friends and colleagues, and nearly everyone in the audience was a celebrity of some kind. People told stories about the birthday boy, and the event was moderated by his son Guri, who is an actor and comedian, his daughter Sari, who is a multicultural singer, and his granddaughter Emma, who is an actress and Guri’s daughter. Alfi’s older son Ben, is a pilot and hi-tech entrepreneur.
Since the advent of the Storytelling Festival 32 years ago, Alfi and his audiences have heard stories told by literally thousands of people from different national, ethnic, and religious backgrounds and professions as well as community builders, athletes, and others.
Alfi speaks several languages, has travelled widely, and is a voracious reader – all factors that have contributed to his enormous fund of knowledge and his talents as a communicator. Though a very young boy when he came to Israel with his grandmother, Alfi has an unbreakable bond with Iraq, and mentions something of his Iraqi background in nearly every one of his programs. It will be more than a brief anecdote during Sukkot.
Some of the people who mounted the stage at Tzavta to convey their greetings to Alfi, also read a poem from his book. The readers naturally included people who, like Alfi, were born in Iraq – though not in the same city. Author and artist Ronny Someck and actor Sasson Gabai were both born in Baghdad. Among the non-Iraqis who read poems were actress Yona Elian and composer and conductor Kobi Oshrat.
It’s ironic that Alfi who with his nine siblings grew up in a home of Iraqi culture and traditions, wanted more than anything to be a real Israeli, and now through his storytelling programs – that take place all year round and not just on Sukkot – promotes the concept of remembering and honoring one’s heritage, just as he honors his Iraqi one.
On October 12, he will host an Iraqi jamboree featuring second- and third- generation Israelis of Iraqi background, who still preserve the customs that their parents and grandparents brought to Israel. Alfi has great respect for Yiddish and Ladino, which are almost always featured at the festival.
He also likes to celebrate anniversaries and will host the Hakol Over Habibi ensemble (Everything will Pass, my Love), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Starring at the opening night of the festival will be singer Alma Zohar and conductor, composer, pianist, and lecturer Gil Schochat, who can switch effortlessly from comedy to classics and back again. What differentiates the festival from Alfi’s other story-telling programs is the variety. He can have three or four themes during the one night, whereas during the rest of the year, the focus is usually on one theme with a little Iraqi something thrown in for spice.
Jamie Salter, friend of Israel
■ WHEN ISRAEL returns to the world’s good graces, it should remember everyone who stood in solidarity with the Sparta of the Middle East, but at the same time it should remember those Jews of influence who were swayed by the threat of boycotts of their products, and preferred lucre over loyalty. Case in point is Canadian Jewish billionaire Jamie Salter who owns Reebok, the sponsor of Israel’s national soccer team, which has been asked to remove the Reebok logo from the team’s uniforms. If the logo remains on the uniform, the company will be confronted by major pro-Palestinian boycotts. Salter owns several other global brands which are equally under threat.
Still, when the dust clears, Israel should forbid the import of all the brands in Salter’s possession, and make it public that these brands cannot be sold in Israel. Now that he has set the ball rolling, it’s fairly certain that other Jewish business tycoons will follow suit. All should be told that if they leave, they can’t come back. Meanwhile, all sporting goods stores in Israel should remove Reebok from their shelves.
Criticizing Sara Netanyahu's fashion
■ AS IF the Netanyahu family doesn’t have enough to worry about right now, criticism is being leveled at whoever is currently Sara Netanyahu’s fashion consultant and stylist. She hasn’t been seen in a while with Sandra Ringler, so it may well be someone else – or perhaps these days, the PM’s wife doesn’t bother to use a professional stylist.
Whether she does or she doesn’t, it was a mistake for her to wear a suit in the shade of green that is seen in the Palestinian flag, which she wore on a flight to the US. Photographs of the flag alongside one of the lady in her green suit are doing the rounds of social media platforms. Given her husband’s opposition to a Palestinian state, the suit she wore suggested the wrong message and angered people on the right of the political aisle.
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