Students celebrate Israeli Independence Day

Israeli food, dancing, music and games marked the celebration of Israel Day in front of the peace symbol on College Green Monday afternoon. The celebration, organized by Hillel and the Penn Public Affairs Committee was designed to give both Jewish and non-Jewish students a better look at life in Israel. "Israel has been in the news so much lately that it has become just a political entity," College sophomore Dina Rabinowitz said. "We wanted to get across to the bulk of the community that it is more than that, that it has a rich culture." From 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. students distributed information about going abroad to Israel, collected donations for a tree planting program, sold Jewish foods and even played Ga-Ga, a popular Israeli game. "Someone said it resembles handball," said College sophomore Jon Teitel who ran the Ga-Ga pit. "You hit the ball against the center triangle and if it hits someone else below the shins they are out of the game." Teitel added that some of the games had as many as 10 to 15 people playing at once which he thinks "is great because people are generally hesitant about things they haven't tried." People involved in the event said they were very enthusiastic about sharing their message and being part of the celebration. "I love Israel. I visited there last year and I wanted to show support for it any way I can," College freshman David Siegel said, as he sold falafel along Locust Walk. "Hopefully this event will help people learn about Israel and Israeli culture." Steven Ebert, founder and president of the Penn Public Affairs Committee, said he started the organization for the same reason the group sponsored its day long event -- to educate students about Israel. "Last year when I was a freshman I was interested in politics, especially Israeli politics," he said. "But there really wasn't all that available about it. So I founded PennPAC to promote understanding of Israeli politics and culture." He added that activities like this "help bring our message across." "Israel is not just about guns and fighting -- it is so much more than that," he added. "The diversity alone is amazing." Many students said the day of activities was interesting and successful. "I am glad to see that people are going by on the Walk and stopping to look at the booths," noted passerby Cara Weinstein, a College freshman. "And it isn't just the people in Hillel, everyone is stopping to take a look."