Reflections from the Solidarity Sukkah

by Teresa Thornhill, Felicity Laurence & Katy Colley

Encouraging open conversation and new connections

Felicity Laurence writes:

"These five evenings collectively were a demonstration of how community relationships can flower.  So many people stopped by, many whom we had never met before; some stayed for a long, warm conversations, others perhaps just for a few minutes. All seemed moved by our own warmth and our reaching out and sharing food.

"For me,  the strongest moments were when people came up and in their first words, expressed their gratitude that we, as Jewish people, were taking the stand on Gaza and Palestine that we take, that we are speaking out when the narrative against us is so extraordinarily strong and seeks always to silence our voices: and in at least two conversations people said directly to me that their response was more than gratitude - it was relief. The whole event made clear that we have a unique role to play in speaking out as people of Jewish heritage,  making space for others also to speak out."

Each night we shared conversations and cake with people in our community

Teresa Thornhill writes:

"I had some really memorable interactions during this week. The first was with a Syrian refugee who when I told him ‘we are Jews who support the Palestinians’ beamed at me and said he was very touched by that. A young boy (about 15) on a bike who took the sukkah leaflet and said, with a very serious expression, that he would pass it on to his parents. Another lad of about the same age who said that when he saw the sukkah he thought we were pro-Israel. I explained our position and he listened and looked relieved and took a leaflet.

"A more difficult conversation was with a middle aged man who said everything was the fault of Hamas. We talked for a bit and I said we would have to agree to differ. The man wasn’t aggressive and it felt like a pretty calm conversation. Then there was a delightful old man with a whispy beard on a mobility scooter. When I explained why we were there he said ‘I don’t agree with any wars, anywhere’. I fetched him some challah and some cake and we chatted some more and he said Felicity’s choc cake was delicious so I got him an extra piece. He lives very close by and I had the feeling he was lonely and appreciated the chance to chat.

"On Friday, my first chat was with a Finnish woman of about 60. She said the situation in Gaza was terrible and then started telling me about Finnish politics. I spoke to a skinny man of about the same age with a US accent. He said ‘what on earth did Hamas think would happen?’ meaning in response to 7 October. He was pretty pro-Israel  and I assume from what he said he was Israeli . His parting words were ‘You’ll never get me to carry a weapon, never!’ Again he was civil and not the least aggressive.

"Then a young couple with a toddler in a buggy. She wore a headscarf and sounded English; he was possibly Syrian and had less good English. They were happy to chat and seemed very sympathetic to the Palestinians. I invited them to the film night and they said they’d like to come but would have to get a sitter, and then she told me she was heavily pregnant (which wasn’t obvious) and due to be induced the following day!"

It was a pleasure to introduce the festival to many people who had never heard of it before.

Katy Colley writes:

"I always loved Sukkot as a child. I have happy memories of joining my Bubbie and Zadie inside their converted garden shed in their garden in Edgware, north London, which sparkled with fairy lights and seemed almost magical to me, adorned by plastic fruit and branches. I wanted to share this special festival with our wider community and so, the weekend before our week-long sukkah, I baked honey cake (from Bubbie's recipe) and about five loaves of challah (including two vegan loaves) from my trusty Claudia Roden recipe book to tempt in passing strangers.

"The first thing that struck me was that very few people in Hastings had even heard of Sukkot so it was a pleasure to introduce them to this beautiful festival and to give them their first taste of challah. The second thing I found was that lots of people were really very keen to have a conversation that involved talking and listening to each other. This was a chance to really engage in a meaningful discussion and it was clear to me that some people have felt scared to express their opinion, or even ask a question, about Israel and Palestine for one reason or another. Perhaps they felt that would say the wrong thing.... which leads my to my third observation.

"During the five nights that I was talking to the public at our sukkah I found that there was a great deal of confusion about what it meant to be Jewish and how that related to Israel. On one occasion a man told me that 'your government is really no good'. When I asked him which government he meant, he said 'Israel'. I had to explain that I was Jewish, not Israeli, and that one is a religion and another is a nationality. After years of having the IHRA definition of antisemitism shoved down our throats, it is perhaps unsurprising that many are very confused about what it means to be Jewish. When people are constantly told that to criticise Israel is antisemitic, no wonder they are afraid to speak out!

"We have a task ahead to enlighten and empower people, to share our wonderful customs and rituals, and at the same time, to grow our own community dedicated to justice, to liberation and to respect, love and compassion for all."