Israel Prison Authority Says Prisoners Can Sleep In Sukkah

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot begins tonight. One of its customs is the construction of a Sukkah, a small enclosed area, partially open to the sky, in which observant Jews during the holiday eat their meals and sometimes also sleep at night. Yesterday's Yeshiva World News reports that in Israel, the Israel Prison Authority has for the first time given permission for observant prisoners to sleep in a sukkah in prison. In previous years, they had only been allowed to eat their meals there. The ruling, handed down at the request of the human rights group B'tzedek, applies to the wing housing religiously observant prisoner at the Massiyahu Prison. Among the prisoners housed there is Shlomo Benizri, a former member of the Knesset from the religious Shas Party, who is serving a four year sentence for accepting bribes.