Observant Jews in Britain face the prospect of being unable to attend polling stations if a general election is held as predicted on 14 October, as that date is the first day of the Succot festival.
The Board of Deputies, the main Jewish communal organisation, has asked the government to consider the “concerns and difficulties” this date would create for the Jewish community due to religious observance during the festival.
What is Succot?
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The BBC says the seven-day festival “commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land”, and “celebrates the way in which God protected them under difficult desert conditions”.
Succot means huts and those Jews marking the festival traditionally build a temporary hut or booth, in which to live, or at least eat meals, during the holiday. The huts have a roof of branches and leaves, through which those inside can see the sky.
The book of Leviticus states: “You shall dwell in booths seven days, that your generation shall know I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
The former chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote: “If I were to summarise the message of Succot I'd say it's a tutorial in how to live with insecurity and still celebrate life.”
Why does this mean Jewish people cannot vote?
The Mirror explains that the first two days of the festival are considered “Yom tov” meaning they are regarded similarly to the Jewish Sabbath when observant Jews cannot work, drive or, “critically use a pencil to make a cross”.
What has been said?
Board of Deputies vice president Amanda Bowman told Jewish News: “If a General Election were to be held on Monday 14 October, this would coincide with the festival of Succot. This means that, due to religious restrictions, observant Jews would not be able to vote in person or participate on the day.”
She added that though the Board “understand that the situation surrounding Brexit means that there is very little flexibility over dates”, it has “been in touch with the Government to explain the concerns and difficulties that our community would face”.
The Jewish Leadership Council said: “We are concerned that many observant Jewish voters could be disenfranchised by an election being called on a Jewish holiday and we have made representations to the government on this matter. We will be asking our community to sign up for postal votes as a matter of urgency so they can exercise their democratic vote.”
Rabbi Lerer of the Central Synagogue in London said voting is important to the Jewish community. "It's considered a duty for the Jew to vote,” he said.
“We say a prayer each week in the Synagogue for peace for the Royal Family and for the government.
“We value the democracy, we value our ability to vote and we definitely see it as an important part of a religion to be able to do so.”
