Amid the smell of Israeli food, the aroma of apple-flavored
hookah smoke and the sound of a live band from Tel Aviv, students
holding Israeli and American flags sang and danced in Bruin Plaza
Wednesday to celebrate Israel’s 58th birthday.
Along with over 200 celebrants, at least 35 students lined the
perimeter of Bruin Plaza in silent protest, holding signs that read
phrases such as “Celebrating 58 years of oppression”
and “Let the Palestinians have a home too.”
The event, put on by the student group Bruins for Israel,
attracted a wide array of students in what event organizers said
was a successful celebration of the history and culture of
Israel’s existence as a state since it was established in
1948.
“Everyone now knows that it’s Israel’s
birthday, which is great,” said Leeron Morad, vice president
of Bruins for Israel.
While eating falafel, blue cotton candy and cake, students
watched Tel Aviv Youngsters, a band of high school students from
Tel Aviv, Israel, dance and sing on stage under an arch of blue and
white balloons.
Following the performance, the consul general of Israel for Los
Angeles, Ehud Danoch, addressed the audience and highlighted
Israel’s economic and technological progress over the past 58
years, as well as Israel’s willingness to negotiate with any
state that seeks to restore peace within the region.
“This government, like ones before it, continues to extend
its hand in peace to all its neighbors,” he said. “To
those who will sit down with us at table of peace, we say
welcome.”
Morad said one of the goals of the event was to bring together
those who are seeking peace in the Middle East, specifically
between Israelis and Palestinians.
Judea Pearl, a professor of computer science at UCLA and founder
of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which seeks to promote
cross-cultural understanding, and Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller,
director of Hillel at UCLA, both spoke about Israel as a symbol of
peace, freedom and equality.
Event organizers as well as celebrants said they were happy with
the message of peace and community that the celebration and
speakers expressed.
Sanam Makhani, a second-year psychobiology student, said the
sense of community and celebratory nature of the event was
heartwarming and made her feel at home among her fellow Jewish
students.
“It’s so good to have a close-knit community
here,” she said.
Many said they came to Bruin Plaza to show their support for
Israel.
“It’s important to support Israel, said Diana
Tehrani, a third-year biology student. “It’s about
unity more than anything else.”
But not all the students who attended the festival were there to
celebrate.
Norah Sarsour, a member of the Muslim Students Association and
vice president of Students for Justice in Palestine, said she and
about 35 others were present in order to “bring to light
that, while celebrations are going on, there are injustices
happening as well.”
Sarsour said that while she understands why they are
celebrating, she would like the celebrants to recognize that there
is another side to the story that does not call for
celebration.
“It is not appropriate to celebrate while so many people
on both sides are being affected by the conflict,” she said,
referring to the ongoing conflict between Israelis and
Palestinians.
Instead, Sarsour said she would like to see a dialogue between
Israelis and Palestinians in order to foster an understanding
between the two groups.
“We don’t want animosity. We are simply striving for
understanding,” she said.
Morad said the presence of the protestors did not take away from
the success of the festival.
Regardless of protestors, “the party is still a
party,” he said. “No one can take away someone’s
birthday.”
Joel Abramovitz, a fourth-year Jewish studies and anthropology
student, said he enjoyed the music, speakers and food at the
celebration, but that he had mixed feelings about the idea of
celebrating Israeli independence in the United States.
On the one hand, he said, independence is an important thing for
Jewish people around the world to celebrate, but on the other hand,
the sensitivity of the holiday may call for a different type of
celebration than what was displayed at Bruin Plaza.
“In the U.S., Israeli independence day should be a day of
debate, discussion and reflection, instead of just uninhibited
celebration,” he said. “There’s a lot more to
Israeli independence than waving flags.”