The Israeli city of Netanya hosted the first-ever Sukkot World Festival on 16-18 October, at the Shlulit Park in Netanya, in salute to the diverse traditions of Jewish communities across the globe.

Coordinated by the municipality with the Ministry for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs and Beit Hatfutsot’s, Museum of the Jewish People, the festival introduced thousands of visitors to different ways of celebrating the fall harvest holiday, when the Jewish people eat their meals in outdoor huts (sukkot) like the ancient Jews lived in following their exodus from Egypt.

Representatives of 21 countries accepted the invitation to build model sukkot at Winter Lake Park in the Israeli coastal city. Participating countries were; Argentina, Belarus, Canada, England, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Holland, Italy, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Peru, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the US.

Each booth was designed in the style traditional to local Jewish communities, and featured other aspects particular to the country. For instance, the Canadian sukkah offered a demonstration of musical instruments made out of shells, paint buckets, pots and pans in order to show how Canada is one of the world’s leaders in recycling. Visitors also had a chance to sample dishes from the various countries on the festival’s Avenue of Flavors.