Hastings Jews for Justice invite public to join them inside ‘Solidarity Sukkah for Gaza’

The Hastings Jews for Justice group is inviting the public to join its members for dinner in a small shelter called a ‘sukkah’ each evening from 6-10 October in Hastings town centre.

Hastings Jews for Justice: solidarity sukkahs

A ‘sukkah’ is a three-sided structure traditionally erected during the harvest festival of Sukkot, with Jewish families taking all their meals there during the festival. It is often decorated with symbols of the harvest like lemons, palm fronds and willow branches. Now the group has adapted the tradition to draw attention to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, where there is an Israeli-imposed famine and most of the population are living in tents, having been driven from their homes and facing daily bombing and shooting even in so-called ‘safe zones’.

The ‘Solidarity Sukkah’ will be erected each night in Hastings Town Centre between 5pm and 7pm from Monday 6 October until Friday 10 October and members of the public are invited in for food and discussions.

Hastings Jews for Justice member Shelley Feldman said:

The original sukkahs were built to remember how God protected exiled Jews during their time in the wilderness after leaving Egypt and the festival was one of gratitude – for the harvest and for shelter.

But today a sukkah holds particular poignancy as almost all Palestinians in Gaza are living in temporary structures because Israel has destroyed more than 90 per cent of all homes there.

In the West Bank too, military incursions and home demolitions have left thousands with nowhere to go.

We are holding the Solidarity Sukkah to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians violently forced from their homes, and to make clear that Israel’s appalling crimes are not being done in our name. Hastings Jews for Justice stands against apartheid Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing.

It is a tradition to invite strangers and guests to the sukkah so we welcome the opportunity to share our food, thoughts and ideas with the wider community.

Collective liberation

Hastings Jews for Justice started in 2024 as a coalition of Jews and people of Jewish heritage living in Hastings and the surrounding districts advocating for ‘collective liberation’ and an end to British ‘complicity with the apartheid state of Israel’. The group hosts regular social gatherings in the community, attends events locally and nationally and holds public gatherings, often rooted in Jewish traditions and values.

In April this year the group hosted a Freedom for All Passover Seder in Stade Hall attended by over 70 people including local councillors, members of the mosque and prospective parliamentary candidates. It is also planning a film screening night in November.

To find out more visit hastingsjewsforjustice.org.

The Solidarity Sukkah will be open to the public from 5pm-7pm at Wellington Place, Hastings, TN34 from 6 October – 10 October.

Featured image supplied