2,500 Falafels Attract Students at Israel Event

The sights, sounds and smells of Israel yesterday enticed Harvard students passing by the Science Center lawn into the Harvard Students for Israel’s (HSI) I-Fest.

The student group hosted its annual festival, a celebration and promotion of Israeli culture, attracting hungry students with plenty of Israeli food, music, and information. A diverse array of students were in attendance.

Booths around the edge of the marquee gave students opportunities to learn more about Israel.

As attendees milled about, a member of HSI chatted with students about opportunities to visit Israel during J-term, encouraging them to sign up for more information on the program.

HSI members also distributed “Did You Know?” cards, which contained trivia about Israel. One, picturing solar panels on a residential rooftop, said that Israel had “the highest number of solar-powered water heaters per capita.”

HSI president Daniel I. Brandt ’12 said that the goal of the event was to “raise awareness about Israel.”

Brandt noted that the central location of the Science Centre lawn was ideal, because it was visible and accessible to as many students as possible.

Harvard Students for Israel says its goal is to “advance the cause of Zionism and promote a peaceful and secure relationship between Israel and its neighbors.” The Israel festival is the group’s biggest event of the year.

“I’m so glad this finally came together,” said Hannah V. Gommerstadt ’13, one of the event organizers.

She added that the group ordered 2,500 falafel balls to feed all its anticipated visitors.

“We always have plenty of falafel,” said Brandt.

“There are a lot of great booths, a lot of variety”, said Eva N.B. Roben ’13, a volunteer at the event.

She noted that the event was going well and that the turnout had been good, adding “there’s a lot of falafel, and it’s never too early for falafel.”

The event ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., lunchtime for many Harvard students. The table in the center of the marquee, covered with paper plates, pita pockets, trays of hummus, falafel balls, and salad mix, was perpetually surrounded with visitors.

“Yummy­—looks delicious”, said attendee Camille Z. Coppola ’14.