On Thursday, September 24, at 18:00, at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv, the Ukrainian-Jewish youth community PROSTIR will unusually open the new season: participants will build a sukkah themselves, decorate it, prepare treats, and then hold a festive l’chaim in the finished hut. The organizers named the meeting “Sukkah Party and Opening of the PROSTIR Season”.
Author: Victoria Katsman
The event is called “Sukkah Party and Opening of the PROSTIR Season” and will take place at Yirmeyahu St 22, Tel Aviv-Yafo. Participation costs 50 shekels, pre-registration is mandatory.
The organizers warn: registration continues until September 23 or until all spots are filled. So those planning to attend should not delay registration any longer.
First build — then celebrate
This will not be an ordinary party where guests arrive at a set table. PROSTIR decided to link the opening of the season with the upcoming Sukkot and make the process of building the sukkah part of the meeting.
At the beginning, participants will get to know each other and the renewed community team, talk about the meanings of the holiday. After that, they will build the first PROSTIR community sukkah in Israel, decorate it, and prepare snacks together.
In the built hut, there will be a festive treat and l’chaim. Then — music, dancing, and informal communication.
This format was chosen here for a reason. Sukkot is associated with ideas of hospitality, a temporary common home, and being together. The organizers of PROSTIR formulated it even more simply: if you are opening a new season of the community, why not literally build the space where this community will gather first.
What is PROSTIR and what does Ukraine have to do with it
PROSTIR is a Ukrainian-speaking Jewish youth community in Israel for people approximately 18 to 40 years old. The Ukrainian word простір translates to “space”.
The project brings together people who want to maintain a connection with Ukrainian culture, learn more about Jewish tradition, and find their place in Israeli life.
The community has been active since the fall of 2024. More about how it appeared, who joins it, and why a separate Ukrainian-speaking space was needed in Israel, was told by NAnovosti in an interview with the founder of PROSTIR Olga Brodskaya.
The project remains volunteer-based. The organizers emphasize that its events are non-commercial, and the main goal is to create an environment where Ukrainian, Jewish, and Israeli parts of identity do not have to be opposed to each other.
NAnovosti — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency has already reported on such initiatives of the Ukrainian community in Israel: the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv, where the current meeting will take place, has turned into a permanent venue for exhibitions, lectures, public meetings, and events of the Ukrainian community over the past years.
In August, for example, a large “Zdibanka Nezalezhnih” for the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence was held here. Now the same venue will host the opening of the new PROSTIR season.
Newcomers are also welcome
The organizers specifically address people who have not attended PROSTIR meetings before.
You can come alone. A significant part of the program is specifically built around joint work in small teams: some are involved in construction, some in decoration, some in preparing treats.
According to the organizers’ plan, acquaintance should therefore occur not at an awkward moment near the table when everyone has already broken into groups, but directly during the joint work.
As promised by PROSTIR, even a person who comes completely alone will quickly find themselves inside a small team.
Why they are building a sukkah
For those who have recently moved to Israel or have not yet encountered this tradition: sukkah — סוכה — is a temporary hut built for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
In Israel, such structures appear literally everywhere before the holiday — near houses, on balconies, in yards, at restaurants, public centers, and synagogues. It is customary to eat, host guests, and spend time in the sukkah during the holiday days.
In 2026, Sukkot begins on the evening of Friday, September 25, and the first festive day falls on September 26. Therefore, the PROSTIR meeting will take place the day before the holiday begins.
For the community, there is also a second meaning here. PROSTIR is building its own sukkah for the first time, and the project itself is built around people who, in a certain sense, continue to build a new home for themselves — already in Israel.
Without unnecessary pathos, this parallel is self-evident.
Where, when, and how much it costs
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026
Start: 18:00
Place: Ukrainian Cultural Center
Address: Yirmeyahu St 22, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Participation cost: 50 shekels
Community age: approximately 18–40 years
To participate, you need to fill out the registration form.
After filling out the form, a payment link appears on the screen. The organizers also provided a separate link for the payment of 50 shekels.
After registration closes, participants are promised to receive a final confirmation and reminder with details via email.
If there are problems with registration, you can contact the organizers by phone at 055-976-3069.
Participants are also asked to familiarize themselves in advance with the PROSTIR Code of Conduct and Safe Space. Adherence to these rules is a condition for participating in community events.
What an Israeli reader needs to understand
PROSTIR is not a political organization or another official Ukrainian center. It is a youth community that tries to connect three environments — Ukrainian, Jewish, and Israeli.
Sukkah — סוכה — a temporary hut built specifically for Sukkot.
L’chaim — לחיים — a traditional Jewish wish and toast, literally “to life”.
And the Ukrainian Cultural Center at Yirmeyahu 22 is already an active public and cultural venue in Tel Aviv, not a space rented just for this party.
Therefore, the name “Sukkah Party” quite accurately describes what is happening. On September 24, guests are invited not to look at a ready-made sukkah, but to come, get acquainted, build it together, and only after that celebrate the beginning of the new season under the roof they just made with their own hands.
To participate, you need to fill out the registration form
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