Prefers Passion of the Christ to Fiddler on the Roof

They're back to steal our souls! Among many things, Sukkot is also known as the Feast of the Tabernacles, though you probably shouldn’t go around calling it that unless you want to get weird looks. Which is exactly what happens to the throngs of Christian Zionist Evangelicals who descend on our fair semi-heathen city every year to celebrate the one time of year when gentiles were allowed to worship in the holy temple.

Last year, Haredi rabbis were none too pleased to see the Sarah Palins of the world run amok in their town and possibly missionizing, and called on Jews to stay away from the Tzeadat Yerushalayim (Jerusalem March). Some 70,000 ignored the directive and marched or stood on the sidelines, watching the festivities, which seemed at times like Saddleback Church does Burning Man. In the end three American Christians were detained for carrying their cross a little too convincingly.

This year the parade will be Wednesday October 15, the first day of Chol Hamoed. The day long hiking festivity is called Tzeadat Yerushalayim (Jerusalem March) and includes people from all walks of life, including soldiers, business people and other delegations streaming into the city from the surrounding hills. The Christians will of course be back and this year the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem will be promoting the Lion King of Judah (Jesus, not Simba) as their theme.

So far, it seems the rabbis have stayed away from issuing a new warning for this year's parade, though we wouldn't go so far as to say they’ve washed their hands of the matter. Haredim usually seem to have a protest at hand for any occasion, and even some blogs are revving up the anti parade rhetoric. What did Christian evangelicals ever do to them? Oh yeah.

Photo of parade by Harry Rubenstein for Jerusalemite.