Israeli Festival Draws 500 Students

Students who stepped out of the drizzle yesterday and into the tent on the Science Center lawn yesterday were welcomed with music, Hebrew name bracelets, and free falafel.

iFest, the annual celebration of Israeli culture, drew about 500 people, said event organizer Dana A. Stern ’09.

“It’s a chance to bring the beauty of Israel’s society and Israel’s history to the greater student body,” said Stern, president of Harvard Students for Israel (HSI).

Tables were set up around the edge of the tent where students could plant a seed to simulate the communal farming of kibbutzim, make a bracelet with Hebrew letters, or compare Israel’s size to Argentina, Eqypt, France, the U.S., and Maine.

One stand allowed participants to write messages that would then be delivered to the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site.

Other booths offered information about Zionism, trips to Israel, and other opportunities in Israel and on campus.

“It’s really about appreciating the diversity,” Seth R. Flaxman ’08 said about the event. “Most don’t realize what sorts of diversity there are [in Israel]—religious, political, ethnic, national.”

While Benjamin A. Lerner ’11 said he was drawn to iFest because of the free food, he acknowledged a more serious motivation.

“I want to show my support for the state of Israel,” Lerner added.

For Shira Kaplan ’08, iFest was a way to show support and have fun.

“I came to show solidarity for my country,” Shira Kaplan ’08 said. “I also came to dance to Israeli music.”

Stern added that while iFest still had food at 1 p.m., after the rush of science classes letting out, everything was gone by 1:15.

“This was definitely the biggest crowd we’ve had in several years,” Stern said.

The festival was sponsored by the HSI, the Harvard College Progressive Jewish Alliance, the Harvard Hillel, the Israel Campus Roundtable, and the David Project.