Rutgers Hillel plans Israeli Culture Festival

by Marilyn Silverstein
NJJN Staff Writer

For the second consecutive year, Rutgers Hillel will celebrate all things Israeli at its Israeli Culture Festival ’06.

The event is slated for Monday, Feb. 13, from 6 to 10 p.m., at the Rutgers Student Center, 126 College Ave. in New Brunswick.

The centerpiece of the event will be an 8 p.m. concert by the Israeli hip-hop/rap ensemble Subliminal and the Shadow. The festival will open at 6 p.m. with Israeli foods from Ma’adan Caterers in Teaneck; an exhibit of Israeli photographs; and vendors selling Israeli jewelry, shoes, crafts, and cosmetics. At 7 p.m., a fashion show featuring student models representing 20 campus groups will showcase the latest Israeli fashions.

“This is our primary kickoff event of the semester,” said 19-year-old Eytan Morgenstern, student director of the event, as he joined Rabbi Esther Reed, assistant director of Rutgers Hillel, in her second-floor office. With his blue-and-white T-shirt promoting the festival, the band, and the festival’s Web site — www.whatis213.com — Morgenstern was “a walking advertisement” for the event, Reed said with pleasure.

The rabbi was also pleased to note that the festival would provide a nonpolitical way for students to connect with Israel. “It’s a celebration of Israeli culture, as opposed to a forum on Israeli politics,” she said. “It’s a way to engage students and the community so they can come and learn about Israel in a way that is different from what they would read in the newspaper.”

The value of making connections on a cultural level is something he’s learned by taking a course in Arabic language, said Morgenstern, a sophomore from Montgomery, Ala., who is majoring in Middle East studies and political science, with a minor in Hebrew. He also serves as Israel director on Hillel’s student board.

“When you talk about politics, it’s very easy to divide people,” he said. “But when you relate on a cultural level, it’s very easy to have a civil and fun conversation. So that’s the overall theme of the festival — to connect students in a cultural and artistic way.”

For example, he said, the festival’s fashion show is bringing together students from such diverse campus groups as the Filipino Students at Rutgers, the Association of Indians at Rutgers, and the Rutgers Capoeira Club for Afro-Brazilian martial arts. The fashions themselves will also reflect diversity, he said — with 100 new Israeli outfits from The Third Eye, a Tel Aviv-based company that imports ethnic fashions from India.

“I hope this will pique the interest of a lot of students to learn more about Israel, but also just to help build bridges with the general Rutgers community,” Morgenstern said. “I see our mission now to create a pro-Israel environment on campus, and that’s why I think the cultural message is the strongest way. It really builds positive attitudes toward Israel.”

A case in point is Subliminal and the Shadow, he added. “They’re one of the most popular of any Israeli groups in America,” he said. “Some of their serious music has very Zionistic undertones. They have a lot of ideas of coexistence in their music. They’re very pro-Israel, very Zionistic. They inspire people to be very proud of being Jewish and Israeli, which, I think, is a great message to bring to the students here.”

Led by Morgenstern, more than a dozen students are involved in the planning for the Israeli Culture Festival, Reed said. “This has been a great leadership development opportunity for Rutgers Hillel, to engage students and help them through the process of learning on all different levels,” she said. “We hope this will be one of our pinnacle events of the school year.”

Several groups are cosponsoring the Israeli Culture Festival, including the Israeli consulate in New York, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Rutgers’ Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life, the Israel Action Committee at Rutgers, the Caravan for Democracy, Nefesh B’Nefesh, Hamagshimim, and the Rutgers College Program Council.

A limited number of tickets to the festival are available to the community. For information, call Rutgers Hillel at 732-545-2407.

Marilyn Silverstein

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