Brandeis Embraces Israeli Culture with Hookah Night

By Daniel Heinrich

On Tuesday, September 13^th, the Brandeis Zionist Alliance (BZA) ­­hosted a Hookah Night for Brandeis Students for the first time. Held outside on the Great Lawn at the center of the campus, BZA offered students free Hookahs to smoke and a plentiful amount of snack food. This event was the first cultural event offered by BZA so far this year.

With the help of Hasbara Fellowships’ “Adam and Gila Milstein Coalition Building Initiative,” upwards of one hundred students came to partake in the festivities throughout the two hour course of the event. The event was co-sponsored by the International Club, Namaskar (the Indian club), and the Brandeis Sephardic Initiative. Students from every walk of life at Brandeis joined in the festivities of the event. In addition to the hookah and snacks, students who attended were treated to a performance by two student belly dancers and Brandeis’ Israeli dance ensemble, B’Yachad.

While an evening with free hookah appeals to many students at Brandeis, one must look at the broader perspective of the event. BZA is Brandeis’ Pro-Israel group on campus. Using the word “Israel” alone can have a polarizing effect towards those impassioned with the issues that surround it politically and emotionally. While it can be hard to pry students from their passionate feelings about Israel, events like this and others like it are designed to transcend the political and enjoy the cultural aspects of the country. While Hookah is not specifically an Israeli cultural facet, it is part of their culture that is shared with its neighbors and therefore binding in its universality.

Vice President of BZA, Avi Fuld 14` said, “I think [cultural events] are crucial when trying to reach out and educate the college campus. Often times, students are tired of the political arguments that polarize a campus. We have found, students are a lot more receptive to Israel-related education when we use a cultural lens. No matter what one's political affiliations are, everyone can relate to Israel's rich, thriving culture.” This, in essence, is what university Pro-Israel groups are trying to achieve on their campuses. So far, at least at Brandeis, it is working.

Last year, BZA hosted “Israel Peace Week.”  A week of cultural and informative programming geared toward promoting a peaceful image of Israel, one that is often overlooked in the media. BZA also raised money for Save a Child’s Heart, a program in Israel dedicated to providing heart surgery and treatments to young children from under-developed countries, including numerous African countries and children from the West Bank and Gaza.

Over the coming year, BZA has a number of cultural events planned including a multi-cultural culinary event highlighting the various cuisines of Israel's thriving ethnic minority populations. Vice President Fuld also told me that they have made plans to bring Dr. Yarden Fanta-Vagenshtein, Ph.D. Harvard Graduate from the School of Education. Dr. Fanta-Vagenshtein is the first Ethiopian woman from Israel to get her PhD.

On campuses across North America, there are many students who are uninformed on the subject and events like this one are effective and reaching out to those students in a safe way that doesn’t directly push an agenda in any direction. Here at Brandeis, we have found a good recipe for taking a celebration of culture and transcending the politics.