Members of the Land of Israel Faithful movement have come up with a new way to fight a proposed building freeze in Judea and Samaria. The movement is asking residents of the area to build the traditional temporary Sukkot dwellings – and to leave them up long after the holiday is over.
Jews traditionally build sukkot – booths used as temporary dwellings – shortly before the week-long Sukkot holiday. The booths are then taken down when the holiday is over.
In many communities, the sukkot booths are adorned with festive decorations, and occasionally prizes are given for the best-decorated sukkah. The Land of Israel Faithful are planning a new twist on the idea of a sukkah contest and will distribute cash prizes to residents of Judea and Samaria whose sukkot are the strongest and show the most potential to serve as semi-permanent structures.
The organization has established a committee to oversee the project. The committee will be headed by MK Michael Ben-Ari (Ichud Leumi – National Union), Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, and veteran activist Baruch Marzel.
"The Jews of Judea and Samaria will not give in to [Prime Minister] Netanyahu and [U.S. President] Obama's plot to strangle Jewish settlement,” Ben-Ari said. “I believe that the Jewish community in Judea and Samaria will join this project, and very soon, we will see hundreds of 'permanent sukkot' in Judea and Samaria that will go up for the holiday, but remain long afterwards.”
Rabbi Wolpe said the “permanent sukkot” could serve as an extra room for residents of Judea and Samaria, many of whom are living in cramped quarters due to their inability to add space to their homes. “With this, we will declare that we have no king but G-d, and that there will be no building freeze on Jews in the land of Israel,” the rabbi stated.