By: Adam Butensky

On Tuesday, November 8^th, 2011, Harvard Students for Israel (HSI) held their annual event of Israel Fest, and once again it was a phenomenal success.  Students from across campus chowed down on delicious falafel while enjoying the beautiful weather and some Israeli music.

Outside the very busy Science Center, in a tent adorned with an Israeli flag, HSI members, led by Hasbara Fellow and HSI Programming Coordinator Beth Drucker, distributed the falafel and information about Israel to well over 1,000 student passersby, according to HSI Co-President Zander Sebenius .  The plates, napkins, and cups all had different facts that captured various facets of Israeli life.

The napkins congratulated the most recent Israeli Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Schechtman, who won the award for chemistry, and noted that he is the 10^th Israeli to win a Nobel Prize, capturing Israel’s contributions to global society.  The plates contained a quote from Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s recent speech at the UN that captures Israel’s commitment to peace: “After such a peace agreement is signed, Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. We will be the first.”

Overall, Israel Fest was a fantastic event that disseminated information about various facets of Israeli life to a wide range of students on campus.  It seemed every one learned something new and had a good time. According to attendee Benjamin Philipson, “It was great to get a taste of Israeli culture on campus.”