Kesher Talk

Survival Sukkah -- Jews in odd places: Uruguay: At first glance, it's yet another reality show: Eight young people between the ages of 18 and 26 are placed together in a restricted area from which they are not allowed to leave without permission. Thousands of people stay tuned via the Internet, with the help of two video-cams that document the proceedings, and a vote is held each day to decide which participant will be sent "off the island." The last remaining contender is declared the winner. Just one little thing sets apart this team and its mission from the others: the space in which the participants are placed is a Sukkah.

The last survivor - Alan Paikes, 20, from Uruguay - won a plane ticket to Washington and a visit to the Holocaust Museum there.

There have been several other attempts to lure young people in the Uruguay community into identifying with Jewish values. Last year, for instance, Purim was celebrated at a fashionable club in Montevideo in order to attract a crowd of students that do not usually observe the holiday. A large audience attended the party; for most of them, it was a first encounter with hamentashen.

posted by William @ 11/18/2003 08:58:31 AM